Reaping the Cards
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: In the aftermath of the Winter War, the group was split and sent to different schools because of a stray attack. Ichigo finds himself in the game-obsessed town of Domino sharing a class with a rich kid, two reformed bullies, and someone who has a weirder haircut than he does. However, he soon ends up dragged into a mess that began 5,000 years ago in Egypt!
1. Chapter 1

He had no idea why he was even here. After the end of the Winter War, the school had to be closed down for the rest of the year because of damages that would take _months_ to repair.

So the students were being sent all over to new schools until the high school was repaired.

Unfortunately, the gang was being split and sent to different schools. The only one that was willing to take in Ichigo...was the one in Domino high.

Small problem though...Ichigo wasn't into the same Duel Monster's craze as nearly the entire city was.

At this point he was learning how to tune out the whole 'monsters', 'spells', and 'traps' talk.

Ichigo's seat was right in front of the class rich kid, Seto Kaiba. Though there was something kinda off about him.

At least in Domino, his orange hair barely rated any note...well outside of the school bullies trying to pick on him. Apparently this whole Duel Monster thing was such a big deal that they even incorporated it into their harassing of the smaller, more timid kids!

Ichigo had taken care of that problem by beating the snot out of them. They hadn't tried again...though it was pretty clear they were shocked by the fact Ichigo didn't know how to play, didn't have a deck, and could care less about the whole card game in general.

Well that and the fact he actually knew how to fight and didn't give a damn if the teachers found out he beat the shit out of them.

The only down side was when the more timid kids in class found out he wasn't a bully and was actually nice to people (he just had a bad memory problem with names) they seemed pretty much drawn to him.

Especially the only kid with hair weirder looking than him...Yugi Muto. He had no interest in Anzu, or her friend. Frankly being around anyone who actually made friendship speeches made him a little...nauseous.

Ichigo filtered out Yugi talking to his friends about some rare card his grandfather had...the man ran a game store...and kept reading his book.

He had a relatively good relationship with Kaiba...mostly because he made it clear he had no interest in the game, or about bothering him. The two got along because neither of them cared about the other.

Still...Ichigo did get along with Kaiba well enough to know he was definitely interested in Yugi's talk about his grandfather's card. And something about the look in his eyes really worried him. Almost like he was possessed.

Ichigo liked Kaiba enough to follow him after class. If he was ever going to get into this ridiculous card game thing, he might as well see someone who knows what they're doing play.

That was apparently the right thing to say, because it got him into the dueling dome Kaiba made...and a seat next to the guy's little brother.

"So...you're the weird kid who hates duel monsters," said the runt finally.

"It's less about hating it and more I don't see what the appeal is. I barely get into video games as it is," admitted Ichigo. About the only time he ever got into games was when his sister Karin roped him into one.

"You're raised in that psychic-zone right? What's the appeal about ghosts?" countered the kid. Ichigo couldn't help it...he grinned. Finally, someone who understood!

"I have no idea, but frankly it was starting to get really, really annoying."

"So if you're not interested in duel monsters, why ask my brother if you could watch?"

"I may not be best friends with him, but I am worried about him. There was this weird gleam in his eyes when that Yugi kid mentioned his grandfather had a rare card that was almost impossible to find. And he's the closest thing to a friend I have in that school, since my friends in Karakura were sent to different ones," said Ichigo. He frowned, before he added "He almost looked...possessed."

The younger brother frowned.

"He has been acting a little off lately. Mokuba," he said, holding out his hand.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," he replied, shaking it firmly.

Ichigo's frown came back full force when he saw Kaiba's opponent. The guy fit the description of Yugi's grandfather...who obviously wouldn't have any experience with holograms. Especially big ones. Was Kaiba trying to give the old man a heart attack?

If Ichigo's was frowning, Mokuba looked horrified himself.

"Seto... what are you thinking?" he muttered.

What happened next was interesting, but Ichigo was pissed. If Kaiba wasn't possessed, then he was so kicking the guy's ass later. There was no excuse for what he did to that poor old man.

Which was why, after Kaiba called Yugi in to collect his weakened grandfather, Ichigo snuck up behind him and swiped the card. Kaiba looked pissed, because it was pretty clear he planned to add insult to injury by ripping it in half.

"Kurosaki," he growled.

Ichigo decided enough was enough. He gave into his natural impulse and slapped Kaiba on the head.

"You're being an ass, and there's no reason for you to act like a two-bit thug. Not to mention how much you upset your brother," stated Ichigo flatly.

If he ever acted like that, he would hope someone would slap some sense into him. Kami only knows how upset Yuzu and Karin would have been if they had seen him acting like Kaiba was!

At the mention of Mokuba, Ichigo saw something flash in Kaiba's eyes. So something was possessing him.

"Just so we're clear here, if you want the card back you beat Kaiba fair and square. Since that was the terms of the game and it was a fair bet. Until then...I'm giving this to the only one I can reasonably trust to be impartial," said Ichigo. He wasn't getting involved if he could help it.

He promptly handed the dragon card that Kaiba was so eager to get to a surprised Mokuba. He was reasonably sure the kid wouldn't rip it in half like his brother was about to.

"Why are you here, Kurosaki-san?" asked Anzu.

"I was worried about him. His aura is off, for lack of a better term. I figured I might as well see what this whole card craze was about. It was...interesting... I suppose," admitted Ichigo. He wouldn't become a total fanatic like these guys were, but he would at least watch.

Not like he had anything better to do until his school reopened.

If Ichigo was concerned before, he was horrified after seeing Yugi beat Kaiba.

It wasn't that he had anything against Yugi, but the mere fact he was possessed by a spirit like that worried him. Mokuba returned the card, but Ichigo was more worried about Kaiba. What Yugi...or whoever that spirit was did to him...it was forced. It had to be painful.

Ichigo helped Kaiba while his brother collected the man's deck.

But the next morning Kaiba was pissed.

* * *

Ichigo found Mokuba waiting for him outside his apartment. Because Domino was so far away from Karakura, it was cheaper to rent an apartment and live here than even consider commuting.

Ichigo took one look at the kid's expression and winced.

"He's pissed I was there to see him get his butt handed to him isn't he?"

"And the fact you saw him when he was weak. I figured you might have an explanation that would keep him from going crazy wondering if he's lost his edge," admitted Mokuba.

"Let me grab my bag," said Ichigo. Considering what happened yesterday, he had the worst feeling Kaiba was going to be dealing with this nonsense a lot. Better to have someone who knows a little of what was really going on explain it to him.

One look at Seto Kaiba's face, and Ichigo knew he wasn't pissed...he was furious beyond belief. Before he could say anything, Ichigo cut him off.

"You don't come after me for slapping you, I won't say anything about how badly the runt rattled you. Deal?"

Kaiba shut his mouth, but the calculating look he gave Ichigo spoke volumes.

"Deal. Mokuba said you might have some answers?"

"More like informed questions. I don't think it _was_ Yugi who beat you. At least, not originally. And whoever the hell was in him is either out of practice or a novice at exorcisms," stated Ichigo.

Considering there was no way in a million years he would have believed that the wimpiest kid in school could beat him, Kaiba was more than willing to listen. Something had been a little off about the runt.

"Let's bring up the video footage and I'll show you what I noticed," said Ichigo.

Five minutes in, he stopped the video and showed a picture of Yugi.

"Here's the runt before the duel. Nothing out of the ordinary. But watch what happens after his grandfather is carted off and he agrees to duel you," said Ichigo.

It was like some weird light show. Ichigo brought up the picture of Yugi and compared it to the one now.

It was like night and day. Yugi was innocent, kind of a wimp and barely five feet tall.

Whoever was on the video now was confident, a bit arrogant and was easily five one. The lines on his face were sharper, and his eyes were a lot more distinct. Not to mention his hair was slightly different. It was like Yugi aged a few years and grew a backbone.

"How the hell did I miss that?"

"One, you don't normally pay him any attention in class. Two, I'm guessing this is the first time this has happened. And three, because you were acting like an ass at the time," said Ichigo, listing his reasons.

"And whatever he did to me after?"

"I'm guessing something possessed you. I have no idea what or when it happened. Considering you wouldn't normally go after the old man like you did from what I know of you, I'm guessing it was fairly recent. It's why I gave the card to Mokuba instead of letting you rip it in half," said Ichigo.

If anything could convince him he was possessed, hearing he had almost ripped a Blue Eyes White Dragon in half would have done it. He loved that card, so the odds of him even _considering_ it were pretty damn low.

"Again, either he's out of practice or he's a novice. I'm betting it's the former if this is the first time he's come out. I wouldn't recommend dueling for a while though... with how rough he was with getting rid of whatever possessed you, it's probably not a good idea to do anything that would require you to use your head in difficult situations. You'd be second-guessing your every move at least," said Ichigo.

"What are we going to do about Muto?" asked Kaiba.

"Leave him be. I'm going to be watching him from now on to see if that spirit is malignant or not. If it is, that Puzzle of his is going to go 'missing' until I have someone exorcise the damn thing," said Ichigo flatly.

Kaiba sat back. At least now he had answers, or as close as he was going to get from such limited information. The runt was possessed...apparently by a better dueler than he was.

Still, the fact was he was in no condition to manage his company. He needed to take some time off and do something that would have him second-guessing his every move. The only problem was that his board of directors was full of vipers, and he wouldn't put it past them to try something.

Like kidnap his brother.

"You know, my little sisters are coming to visit me for a week. I'd be willing to keep an eye out for Mokuba... we can claim he's staying over to beat my sister Karin at video games or something. Knowing her she'd be thrilled at having a real challenge for once," said Ichigo.

"How good is she?" asked Mokuba. He didn't mind staying with Ichigo while his brother recovered. He seemed like an alright guy and his brother liked him. That was enough of an endorsement in his opinion.

"She's good enough that she almost quit playing because she kept beating everyone," said Ichigo.

"Sold," said Mokuba.

The only reason Kaiba even considered it was because he had seen how quickly Ichigo dealt with those bullies. They had needed to be in the hospital for a week before they came back...and they left him alone ever since.

Besides. Ichigo was the closest thing to a friend he had. He didn't give a damn about Kaiba's money, his fame, and they had bonded over talking about their respective siblings. Kaiba was a relatively good judge of character...and what he saw of Ichigo's said that the boy had more honor than his entire board.

This was the biggest show of trust Kaiba was going to give him.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a very, very good thing Mokuba chose to stay with Ichigo while his brother recovered from whatever the hell the spirit did to him. A few days tinkering would do wonders.

However finding out Pegasus Crawford was at Kaiba Corp with the full board had the boy really worried.

Meeting Ichigo's sister Karin was interesting at least.

"NO WAY! How the hell did you meet Mokuba Kaiba, the Capsule Monster Kid?!"

Mokuba blushed.

"You remember that?"

"Dude, you're still the highest ranked Capsule Monster player on the online games!" said Karin.

Karin immediately dug through her bag to pull out...a laptop?

She brought up the game...before she pointed out her username.

"You're Soul_Girl? I've heard of you," said Mokuba impressed.

"Have fun, I cleared the table if you want to play," said Ichigo.

With those two sufficiently distracted, Ichigo helped Yuzu put up the groceries for the week. After that he ordered pizza, since Karin and Mokuba were still debating the merits of some game thing or another.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. Some idiot came through a _tape_...and stole your grandfather's soul?" said Ichigo. Yugi had called him almost immediately, likely because Kaiba had confronted him about the fact he had been the one to break the possession...or the spirit in the puzzle had.

So now Ichigo had become their official channel for anything spirit related, since he seemed to know something about them.

At least Mokuba was safe. He and Karin had hit it off over something called Capsule Monsters (which he didn't even try to understand, so long as they didn't try to drag him into it) and because they had hit it off, Karin had chased off some thugs who tried to kidnap him.

A single kid trying to fight off a bunch of thugs was one thing...a thirteen-year-old girl screaming pedophile got a _lot_ more attention than a boy being dragged into a car.

Especially if said girl had a strong pair of legs she wasn't afraid to use against the men in question. Ichigo was proud to say his sisters knew how to defend themselves against bigger opponents.

That tends to happen when you ask your best friend (the second-best fighter in Japan, and that only because of a broken arm) to teach them self-defense against perverts and pushy fighters.

Karin had taken to it more than Yuzu had.

Ichigo had made a point to keep an eye on Mokuba at all times, and to establish a procedure.

For one thing, he had to let him know if he was going to go shopping, or visit the arcade. And if anything seemed hinky he was to call him immediately, and Ichigo would come find him.

Considering for some reason, people always seemed to be kidnapping him to use against his older brother, Mokuba didn't mind. Ichigo gave him space, but also made sure he knew what to do if he needed him. He was like a bodyguard who at least gave him privacy and didn't ask awkward questions unless they were needed.

Mokuba knew Ichigo was basically living off an allowance from his father in Karakura...there were few stores willing to hire an orange haired teenager with a background for being a troublemaker in his home town.

The fact most of that was gangs who thought Ichigo was a delinquent because of his natural hair color...well, it was something they didn't want to invite.

Ichigo might make an excellent bodyguard.

"No, I don't know how they managed that...though I know quite a few people who are going to be really pissed off someone living is messing with souls like that," said Ichigo to Yugi. This sounded like the sort of thing that would really tick off the Soul Society.

Too bad he lost the ability to contact them... or maybe not.

"Let me make some calls. I know someone who might be able to get a hold of the people who generally deal with stuff like this."

Once he hung up on a frantic Yugi, who was being blackmailed into attending this Duelist Kingdom nonsense, he promptly dialed the number to the shop Urahara owned. If anyone knew about this nonsense, it had to be him.

"_Urahara Shop," _said Ururu.

"Is hat-and-clogs there? I got something that might interest him, or at the very least something that would definitely set the Soul Society into a real snit," said Ichigo.

It took a moment for Ururu to recognize his voice, but once she did she said _"I'll tell the boss you need him."_

A few minutes later Urahara came on the phone.

"_Ichigo! How's Domino city? Is it really as game obsessed as the rumors say?"_

"It's fine, and yes the rumors are in fact true. Should hear the ones I keep hearing about Karakura," said Ichigo.

"_So what seems to be the problem?"_

"In a word? Possession."

"_Really. Tell me more," _said Urahara eagerly.

The minute Urahara heard about the puzzle, Ichigo could practically _hear_ him wince over the phone.

"_A puzzle you say. Does it have some sort of Egyptian background and the eye of Horus on the front?"_

"He did mention his grandfather picked it up in Egypt, why? And I wouldn't know what the Eye of Horus would look like."

"_Dammit...that explains the weird surge that was felt a year ago... Look Ichigo, the best I can do is warn you to avoid anyone with anything made of gold who rambles about 'shadows' and 'magic' in the same sentence. They generally have an item with a stylized eye somewhere that's made of gold, except for one that resembles an Ankh with the bottom that looks like a key."_

"Why?"

"_Because they're a headache and a half, that's why! The damn things were made from the bodies and souls of a village of Jews around 5,000 years ago, and two souls were later trapped in what looks like a dreamcatcher and an upside down pyramid. According to rumor, the dreamcatcher has a tomb robber that caused trouble back then and the puzzle has the pharaoh who tried to stop him... I think, and this is only the bare bones of what I heard, that the robber was one of those living in the village that was sacrificed to make them. I can look this up, but it'll take time."_

Ichigo winced. This sounded a hell of a lot more complicated than he thought.

"Can any of them remove the souls of the living and put them into cards?"

"_All of them can, it just takes practice and inclination. Which one in particular are you trying to find more about?"_

"He said it looked like he had a gold eye in his head where the right one should have been," said Ichigo.

"_Millennium Eye. It makes reading the mind or going into someone else's a lot easier, and for the full power to be used you have to replace one of your own with the damn thing. All seven of those pieces are nasty, and the only friendly one I've heard about was the puzzle, which was the one with the pharaoh's soul stuck inside."_

"Well that explains the possession I saw. Keep me posted," said Ichigo.

"_Only if you keep me updated on what you learn about them. We don't have much because it was in another jurisdiction and the fact they were only active for a couple of years before there was a massive upheaval. A lot of the information about them was lost in the shuffle,"_ said Urahara.

"So do I have any jurisdiction in this? I mean concerning the soul society and what not?"

"_Considering the one that dealt with this last time was destroyed and then had to be remade, I doubt they'll give you too much trouble... the one with the Puzzle is Japanese right?"_

"His name is Yugi for kami's sake. Who else who name their kid the Japanese word for 'game'?"

"_In that case we do have jurisdiction. Just be careful,"_ said Urahara.

* * *

Ichigo caught up to Yugi with Mokuba tagging along. Outside of chatting with Karin about the various video games they both enjoyed (and doing his homework online once he explained the situation to the teacher) he was quite bored.

"Okay, what little information I was able to get from my contact is more than enough to tell me you're in for some trouble."

"What do you mean?" asked Jounouchi dumbly.

The only reason Ichigo could get along with this particular idiot was because like him, the blond had a younger sister he was fiercely overprotective of. And that was something Ichigo could get behind. The fact the girl only needed a very expensive surgery before she was able to see meant that he was a little bit nicer to the guy.

It was also why Ichigo fully planned to give Jounouchi his phone number if he needed help...though once he learned of the teen's living situation he would consider giving him the spare key to his apartment.

He was an idiot, but he was a tolerable one. If could deal with the annoying midget who was so out of date that she kept getting her ideas of modern culture from books and manga, he could live with the blond fool who was at least current with the usual trends.

"Well?" pressed Anzu.

"Okay, with what little I did notice and what I saw during that duel with Kaiba... Yugi, the Puzzle is some sort of soul container for a 5,000-year-old Pharaoh. I'm guessing being stuck in a puzzle that was in pieces didn't do him any good for his memory, so that might explain why when he exorcised Kaiba it was so rough. Either that or he's not very good at it."

"Really?" said Yugi with open interest.

"Yeah, but considering what I heard went into making it, I'm pretty sure these things are going to come back to bite you in the ass. Especially considering my contact said there was a second soul sealed into another item that was likely going to be very, very pissed off with the one in yours. Probably enough that he'll want to kill you without hesitation," said Ichigo.

"Eep!"

"Why would anyone want to kill Yugi?!" said Anzu horrified and angry.

"Not Yugi. The spirit in his puzzle. The only reason this second spirit might go after him would be to get at the one in the puzzle," clarified Ichigo patiently.

"Why would hate this spirit so much?" asked Yugi wide-eyed.

"From what I understand, the Puzzle and six others like it were made from a village. The other spirit is supposedly the survivor of the massacre. Now either the spirit in the puzzle was behind that attack, or someone closely related to him was. And considering the practices of Ancient Egypt..." said Ichigo.

Yugi grimaced. Ichigo might have only learned the bare bones of ancient Egypt after looking it up, but Yugi was quite a bit more informed.

"What?" asked Honda.

"The pharaohs of ancient Egypt had a really bad habit of marrying their siblings in an attempt to keep the bloodline 'pure'," explained Yugi.

"Ew," said Anzu.

"In fact it's why King Tut didn't have any living children, despite the fact he had been married before his death. He married his half-sister slash cousin and their children were all stillborn," said Yugi. He found Egypt fascinating, so he listened to his Grandfather about it.

"That is just gross," said Anzu.

"Considering in Japan you're legally allowed to marry your cousin provided you're not too closely related, I don't think we have any room to talk," said Ichigo dryly.

"Can we change the subject please?" begged Anzu. This was really too gross to talk about.

"Anyway from what you told me about this Pegasus, he has the Millennium Eye, which gives you the ability to read other people's minds easier and steal their soul. So try not to make eye contact if you can help it," said Ichigo.

"I really wish I had known that sooner," said Yugi wincing.

"I'm more worried about how my brother's going to take all this," said Mokuba.

"Why?"

"He's pissed that he got beat by some ghost. If he finds out Pegasus can do something similar..." said Mokuba.

"Yeah, well since this is in Japan, I have some ability to help. So long as we don't get separated, you should be fine. It would be interesting to see how Pegasus handles someone like me," said Ichigo cryptically.

He had been hearing whispers in the back of his head ever since the duel between Kaiba and this second spirit.

Most people would be freaking out about such a thing. Ichigo took comfort in it.

He recognized the voices.

* * *

"Okay, can you explain to me how the hell I got an invite to this tournament when I don't even _own_ a deck?" asked Ichigo highly confused.

The two of them had come back to the apartment only to find an Industrial Illusions box at the door. Once confirming the thing wasn't a trap box (via throwing it hard into the spare bedroom, where it collided with a wall), Ichigo had opened it...to find an invitation to the Duelist Kingdom tournament.

"I'm betting Pegasus is using this to get to me, since he hasn't been able to get past you," said Mokuba.

"Well there's only one thing to do with this thing," said Ichigo.

"What?"

"I'm calling tall, blond and dumb to see if he wants a free ride into the tournament. I only need one card and one 'star chip' to get into the place. No one said I have to keep the stupid glove or duel anyone," said Ichigo smirking.

Mokuba blinked, before he started laughing.

"You're just going to treat this as a camping trip aren't you?"

"Damn straight!"

That made the kid laugh even harder. Finding out Ichigo wasn't a duelist, at all, was sure to piss off Pegasus. Especially since the only reason he had sent that box was to entice Ichigo to test his luck and possibly kidnap Mokuba. The fact Ichigo was planning to do this on a televised tournament made it even funnier.

Seto was sure to have a good long laugh at this.


	3. Chapter 3

If Jounouchi was confused by the fact Ichigo had a glove and the rest, he was surprised when the other teen handed them both over (except he kept one of the stars and a card) to the blond without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Why give them to me?" he asked.

"One, I don't duel and I don't even own the cards, let alone own a deck. Two, this gives you a chance to win the money for your sister's surgery legally. Three, it will royally piss off Pegasus when he finds out he gave an invitation to someone who doesn't even play the card game he created and that I plan to turn this into a camping trip until this is over," said Ichigo flatly.

Mokuba snickered.

"That's actually the same reason I asked Yugi for one of his stars and the extra card. Pegasus can't kick us out if we have at least one of each, but nothing said we have to duel," said Mokuba.

Yugi, once they explained what they were doing, had snickered himself. It was pretty funny that they were going just to annoy Pegasus.

The fact Ichigo was going to be in charge of tents, food and water meant he was more or less the one making sure they didn't starve to death.

Ichigo had overheard Anzu and Honda planning to sneak into the tournament, so he told them flatly to bring their own food supplies and a change of clothes. He was not carrying extra, because he was pushing it as it was.

* * *

Mokuba and Ichigo were grinning evilly as they showed their cards and stars to the guards. This was going to be hilarious.

They didn't have the gloves, but they did have everything else.

Seeing the predatory looks of the more traitorous duelists, Ichigo smirked. This was definitely going to be fun.

"Yugi, keep an eye out for bug boy. He has a shifty look that just screams he's going to try something unpleasant," said Ichigo.

Yugi blinked, before he noticed the look the bug duelist was giving him. It reminded him of some of the bullies at school before Ichigo came and dealt with them. They weren't stupid enough to cross the orange-haired teen. He winced.

"Can you and Mokuba stick close?" the smaller teen asked quietly.

"Jounouchi, find us on the side decks later. Go find some decent cards to trade for," said Ichigo.

"Gotcha."

He came back half an hour later with some new cards, to which Yugi added even more since he couldn't use them in his own deck.

The second Ichigo spotted the bug boy, he subtly shifted Mokuba between Yugi and Jounouchi before making sure the boy could see him clearly. One look at Ichigo's eyes, and he decided that perhaps challenging Yugi immediately would be a better idea... Ichigo couldn't interfere then.

Once they were on the island and Ichigo made very certain Mokuba was in arm's reach at all times, Yugi was drawn into the first duel of the tournament by bug boy.

It was...informative, Ichigo could claim later.

* * *

The second Ichigo ran into Ryou from school and saw the odd pendant around his neck, he knew without a doubt that Ryou was the one stuck with the other soul. Once he was out of view of any dueling platforms (all duels were televised, and thus each arena had ample amounts of cameras nearby to catch all the action...a fact Ichigo took advantage of) he confronted the white-haired teen.

Ryou paled when Ichigo asked about the black outs, and looked horrified when Ichigo asked to speak to the spirit in the Ring.

He had already had a chat with the Pharaoh, and while the other spirit was relatively friendly, he also had large gaps in his memory. What he knew about the situation was very limited, and spotty at best.

Ichigo had the feeling this spirit knew more.

"Are you sure? From what I understand this spirit isn't exactly..."

"I just need to confirm a few things. In order to trap me he has to challenge me to a game I can accept, which I have no intention of doing," stated Ichigo flatly.

While the pharaoh hadn't exactly been full of information, he did remember that a challenge or game had to be issued before they could act with impunity. It was why he mostly only came out when Yugi found himself against an opponent.

There was a subtle shifting of Ryou's posture, and his hair spiked up a bit more. Where there had been warm brown the same shade as Ichigo's, there was now a bloody red.

"Wow... so he's like..." said Mokuba.

"Yeah, same possession. Though something tells me there's an extra that's not wanted or welcomed in this one."

"_Hmph. What do you want, and how did you know the Landlord was possessed?"_

"First off, do you have a proper name? All I got out of his royal highness was Pharaoh, and that was because I had told him that much. The Chibi and his cheering squad have taken to just calling him Yami though."

The spirit's eyes narrowed in anger at mention of the other spirit, but he finally said _"My name is Ba-Ku-Ra, or Tomb Robber. And for your continued health don't you ever dare compare me to that bastard."_

"Bakura then. Good to have the fact there were two spirits sealed into these things confirmed. Now what do you know about these items, specifically their powers? And before you think I'm trying to get them for myself, the only interest I have in them is to see them destroyed and the souls contained inside them released to their respective afterlives," said Ichigo.

The thief's eyes narrowed, before he told Ichigo what he knew of the items. Mokuba, who had opted to come with Ichigo instead of sticking close to Yugi, was taking notes so Ichigo could relay them to his contact. He was good at that, despite the fact he didn't have his tablet with him.

Ichigo got as much information from the thief as he could, as Ba-Ku-Ra was a much better source than his rival (a fact that rather pleased the spirit to no end...as did the fact Ichigo was treating this tournament as a camping trip to piss off the man running it) before he bid the spirit a good bye.

So long as Ichigo remained neutral towards both parties, Ba-Ku-Ra wouldn't try to turn him into a doll or send him to the Shadow Realm. The fact Ichigo treated him with genuine respect didn't hurt either, or that he knew the truth about the items.

The entire reason Ba-Ku-Ra hated the Pharaoh was because it was his village sacrificed to make the damn things. An attack he, unfortunately, had been around long enough to witness, as well as their forging.

At least Ichigo learned it wasn't the spirit in the Puzzle who ordered the initial attack, but the father of the spirit. Ba-Ku-Ra found the fact the idiot had forgotten his own name hilarious enough that he refused to tell Ichigo what it was. To be fair, Ichigo was of the opinion that it was probably better Yugi found the name himself, rather than find it second hand.

"This entire thing stinks. My brother's stuck dealing with a psycho who's using a ball made of dead people and gold?" said Mokuba, looking rather queasy.

"The Egyptians were rather fond of gold. In any case, at least we had a lot of things confirmed and even more we didn't know. Urahara's going to be pleased about this," said Ichigo, looking for a place to set up so he could e-mail this to the man. No way was he sending a text with this much information. Not a chance in hell with how tiny the keypad was on his phone.

Once he found a sturdy rock, Mokuba sat next to him as he typed out everything he learned from the thief. Once it was sent off, they went looking for someplace to set up camp near a dueling arena.

Pegasus might have cameras all over the place, but the ones that went outside were all near the arenas. As a consequence, Ichigo and Mokuba made a point of sticking around those areas the most. It would be rather awkward for Pegasus to have to explain why he had a twelve-year-old kidnapped to an international audience, especially if he started crying rape or something similar. The fact he was well known as Seto Kaiba's brother didn't hurt either.

* * *

"Mokuba! What are you doing here?!" said Seto horrified and beyond pissed.

Mokuba cheerfully held up his card and star, as did Ichigo. That confused the billionaire considerably.

"Why do you have those?"

"Pegasus sent me an invite since he couldn't get past me to take Mokuba. I gave my invitation to Jounouchi, and kept one card and star to piss him off. Rules state I have to have at least one card and one star to come here and stay on the island. Nothing said I had to duel though," said Ichigo amused.

It took Seto Kaiba a moment to process that, before he started cackling.

"He has no idea you don't even own a deck does he?"

"He might have figured it out after the first idiot tried to duel me," said Ichigo. "The fact I still have a star chip and card means he can't kick me out, because we've made a point to be near the duel arenas where the cameras that are transmitted outside are."

"That is unbelievably funny and the fact he invited you without doing any research is hilarious," said Seto grinning evilly.

He only wished he could have seen Pegasus' face when he realized Ichigo not only did _not_ own a deck, but he had no intention of dueling in this little tournament.

"Before I forget... When you go after Pegasus, do not make eye contact with him. Ever."

"Why?"

"Remember how the chibi beat you? He has a trinket that's similar, only it lets him read minds. Making eye contact only makes it easier for him," said Ichigo. Mokuba nodded.

"That stupid gold eye of his?" asked Kaiba for clarification.

Ichigo nodded.

"He doesn't have a dead guy in him like the runt does he?"

"The only one who has something similar is Ryou, and that one isn't nearly as nice unless you plan on mocking the one in Yugi's Puzzle," said Ichigo.

"Good to know."

* * *

Ichigo made sure to stick near Seto Kaiba, primarily because if anyone could protect Mokuba from being taken, it was him.

However that apparently didn't apply to Ichigo. Once he left to use the rest room, he was grabbed from behind and knocked out before he knew what hit him.

Apparently he had really, really pissed off Pegasus when the man found out what he had done with his invitation and the fact he kept Mokuba safe from his goon squads.

The whispers were stronger as Ichigo woke up. He could feel a knot on his head...likely from whatever he was hit with.

Ichigo took comfort, rather than concern, when he heard the voices.

Zangetsu and Shirosaki. He had thought he lost them forever.

Pegasus was there, and he was pissed. Not only had Ichigo given away his invitation to someone else, but he had come anyway and turned it into a holiday rather than pander to the man's ego.

The fact he kept Mokuba far, far from the man's good squad didn't help either.

So yes, Pegasus was pissed off.

"You've caused me a great deal of trouble, Kurosaki-san," he said annoyed.

"Not my fault you didn't think to check if I was a duelist," said Ichigo cheekily.

If Pegasus had sent someone to check, he would have known Ichigo was one of the rare people in his school that didn't even own a deck. He knew the basic rules, but he didn't duel.

"Yes, well you'll still pay me back for the mess you started by showing up without a deck," said Pegasus a little darkly. He was going to have the boy duel Kaiba for him, if only to push the other teen into making mistakes.

Ichigo didn't say a word, merely leveled an unimpressed glare at the man. When the Eye hit him with it's mystical energies, there was a violent backlash.

Because Ichigo's power seemed to come back faster around people who used this shadow magic, and the fact he had more than one soul in his body, the spell didn't react as it should.

Where there was one Ichigo in the cell, there were now two. Only one of them wasn't in shackles and had a rather odd looking samurai outfit and a large sword that looked like an oversized butcher knife. The leading edge was black, but the rest was a pale white-gray. Where Ichigo's hair was orange and his eyes were brown, this one was white haired and yellow-eyed, with the whites of his eyes an ominous black color.

Every instinct in Pegasus' body screamed at him to run, run and never look back.

"**KEKEKE... Looks like you've gotten soft, King,"**said Shirosaki.

"Shut up and get rid of the damn shackles Shiro. If you behave I'll even introduce you to the thief. I bet the two of you would get along great," said Ichigo sarcastically.

Shiro's smirk didn't waver. With a single slash, the iron manacles were cut into pieces...and Ichigo was unharmed.

Pegasus saw the look in the eyes of the white Ichigo...and fled. No way was he facing that thing...not when his eye couldn't effect him! And he did try, once he got over his shock.

With Shiro's help and the help of the reverse Zangetsu blade, Ichigo was able to get out of the cell.

Now to find his way out.

* * *

Seto heard a beep on his cell phone, which had a very extensive coverage once he was done tinkering with it.

He read the text with no little amount of disbelief...and amusement.

_Managed to get kidnapped by the one-eyed moron. Sent him running with tail between legs, but there was a minor addition after. I'll try to catch up to you soon, but he's going to be pretty mad and might take it out on you if he can. Ichigo_

Kaiba snorted. Trust Ichigo to piss off Pegasus and somehow manage to escape.

He sent a text back to Ichigo.

_Got ten stars. We'll be heading to castle soon. Meet up with us there and tell me how you managed to get out. Kaiba_


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, since people keep asking me "Is Ichigo going to get a deck?" the answer is yes, but he won't be dueling any time soon. He mostly plays out of boredom once he's finished his homework. I also plan on bringing Chad into the picture, and Orihime, very soon. I'm having some difficulty making Ichigo a duel deck (Orihime is ridiculously easy in comparison), but I will say it features Dharc the Dark Charmer, among others. Shirosaki will also be a more active role, but Zangetsu will remain in the background. We also see Rukia and Renji, but they won't be sticking around for long. **

**I hope that settles the question of Ichigo's deck. Any reasonable suggestions would be appreciated!**

* * *

Shirosaki was able to return to Ichigo's soul-scape, but the damage was done.

His hollow self could escape his soul and interact with the world now. So long as he didn't go on a rampage, Ichigo didn't mind.

However, unknown to Ichigo at the time was that because of Pegasus' ill-fated attempt to steal his soul, he had been permanently altered by shadow magic. If and when he finally took an interest in the game (and he would, just not to the extent Kaiba and Yugi did), he would discover an entirely new avenue of fighting opened up to him.

Of course as Ichigo had predicted (despite having met the thief only once) the second Shirosaki and Ba-Ku-Ra met, they got along like a building they had set on fire together. Ironically this had the added effect of convincing said spirit that Ichigo was worth keeping around, if only because his dark side was just as sadistic as the thief himself was.

"Okay I know I'm going to regret this, but who the hell is that and why does he look like you only bleached out?" asked Kaiba after mentally counting to ten.

Ichigo snorted.

"His name is Shirosaki, and I guess you could say he's my dark side. Though I don't know if he would be interested in duel monsters," said Ichigo honestly. He liked Kaiba.

"**Che. Not enough blood and nowhere near as entertaining as real fighting,"**said Shirosaki, dispelling that chance.

"He's not going to be like the runt or the English kid is he?"

"**Different kind of possession. I'm literally part of Ichigo's soul, I was just out cold because of something stupid he did a couple months ago. Don't piss me off and I won't eat yours," **said the Hollow.

Mokuba snickered.

"Which reminds me... How would you be interested in acting as Mokuba's permanent body guard, at least until this mess with these trinkets is dealt with?" asked Kaiba.

"Sounds good to me. None of the jobs I've found look even remotely interesting, and I'm probably the only person who can act as a go-between once _they_ find out about this mess. They really hate it when people mess around with souls so freely," said Ichigo.

Shirosaki snorted.

"**Bet you two days outside of your head that they'll send the midget and the monkey,"** he said to Ichigo.

Ichigo's derisive snort said volumes.

"I'm not stupid enough to take that bet and you know it. At least she can't trick me into acting as clean-up like last time."

Unlike Karakura, the amount of hollows was nonexistent. And since Ichigo couldn't very well move back home while his school was still being renovated after being nearly destroyed, she couldn't convince him to return other than to visit.

Besides, he liked Domino. It was actually kind of pleasant, once you learned to tune out the whole 'game obsession' thing.

"We can work out the specifics of the contract once we hit the mainland. Frankly the idea of you keeping Mokuba safe sounds much better than relying on the chibi and his cheer squad," said Kaiba flatly. And it was true. Trusting Ichigo to keep his little brother safe was more appealing.

At least Ichigo wouldn't hold it over his head later.

"And the fact I have no issues with breaking bones and sending people to the hospital had nothing to do with it," said Ichigo dryly. Kaiba snorted in agreement.

He was going to be paid for something he would have done for free, if asked the right way. And being a bodyguard to someone he could actually stand sounded better than living off of the allowance his dad sent every other week. So long as he wasn't ordered to kill anyone, this was a job he could live with.

* * *

"I don't know whether to be happy or terrified you've given him someone to talk to," admitted Ryou.

"I'm just glad he doesn't mind the new name I gave him since I got tired of mixing you two up in my head," said Ichigo. Beside him Mokuba snickered.

"Only you would come up with the name 'Kaitou' for a thief," said Mokuba, before he added "I feel sorry for any children you have. You might just name them Red or something."

Where the newly named Kaitou (Ba-Ku-Ra was immensely pleased with this new name) was talking to Shiro, the hollow side of Ichigo snickered.

"**You think that's bad? King just called me Shirosaki because I'm like the bleached out version of him! If Zanny hadn't already come with a name who knows what he would have come up with to call him!" **

"I'm not that bad!" said Ichigo.

"**Yes, you are. I am _you_ remember King?"**

"Dammit...do you have any idea how irritating it is to lose an argument with yourself?" said Ichigo slumping. Mokuba and Ryou snickered nearby, as did Kaitou.

"I wonder how Karin and Yuzu will react to no longer being the only twins of the family," said Mokuba snickering.

Shiro snorted in agreement.

"**This coming from the runt who still chats with Karin on the message board whenever he logs onto his Capsule Monster account? And occasionally asks about her twin sister?"**

Mokuba blushed. While he got along great with Karin, he felt mostly feelings of friendship with her. Yuzu, however...

Ichigo grinned evilly.

"Oh wait until your brother hears you have a crush on my little sister!"

"Don't you dare!"

"**Face it runt, he'll figure it out soon enough once he finds you chatting with her sister and asking about her."**

"You guys are jerks," said Mokuba.

"No, we're older brothers. It is the kami-given right of all older siblings to tease the younger ones once they develop their first crushes and to protect them from harm. Just like we also have the right to put the fear of kami _into_ said boyfriend or girlfriend," said Ichigo grinning.

All this was done while Kaiba was dueling Pegasus, and despite avoiding the eyes, was losing.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" asked Mokuba.

"Odds are Pegasus will do to him what he did to Yugi's grandfather. However if he does, then I have enough evidence to call someone in to have a...word...with him. They hate it when living mess around with souls. Last time they nearly wiped out an entire clan because of it," said Ichigo.

He could only imagine how pissed the Soul Society would be when they heard about this. Messing around with the mind was one thing, but souls was another question!

There was a sudden flash of light, and Kaiba collapsed. Mokuba winced and gripped Ichigo's hand extra tight.

"Relax. Even if he did steal your brother, we'll get him back. Even if I have to bribe Kaitou over here to get him," said Ichigo.

"_And how exactly were you planning on 'bribing' me?"_ asked Kaitou amused.

"I'll disguise Shiro and let you two have free reign in Karakura and Domino so long as none of it comes back to bite me or Ryou in the ass later," said Ichigo.

Judging by the look on Kaitou's face, he rather liked that idea. Ryou, not so much.

"You do realize how much damage he could cause, right?"

"So long as he leaves innocent people alone and only goes after the assholes, and there are a _lot_ of them in Domino, I could care less. Besides, I bet you anything that Yugi and his spirit will attract more than enough trouble for him like fleas to a dog," deadpanned Ichigo.

"_Ten thousand yen says he draws trouble before a month is out,"_ said Kaitou without hesitation.

"Twenty says that the next problem involves another Item user," said Ichigo. They shook on it.

"_Let's say three to one?"_

"Deal."

* * *

"Explain. Why the hell was I sent to that place when you could have stopped it?" demanded Kaiba.

"One, it was on international television. Two, if I had left Mokuba up there alone you know he would have had his goon squad on him in seconds. And three, odds were Yugi's 'spirit' friend would have beaten the dumbass anyway," said Ichigo.

"You should have stopped at two," said Kaiba.

"I know. But odds are we won't have to deal with this crap twice now that I've told my contact about what's happening here. Keep an eye out for a tattooed, red haired idiot wearing out of date clothing and a short midget who seems completely clueless coming by the school or my house."

"Why?"

"They're usually the ones sent to act as my go-betweens," said Ichigo.

He could only imagine how badly Kaiba would react to Rukia.

* * *

Ichigo looked over the contract carefully. For the most part, it was straight forward.

For a sizable sum (more than he would get working a five-to-twelve job available to most high school students at restaurants) he would guard Mokuba after school hours, across borders, and occasionally overnight. Since Shirosaki was part of him, he would guard the kid during the times Ichigo couldn't, specifically _during_ school hours or at the house while the brothers were sleeping.

Ichigo had never been more happy that Shirosaki could become invisible and still be dangerous. He didn't mind splitting the check with his hollow self.

In exchange for acting as bodyguard, he got two weeks off, a very good dental plan that covered his sisters if needed, a health plan that covered most doctors and hospitals, a weeks paid vacation and most of his expenses abroad covered while he was off duty.

All for protecting a kid who he would have guarded for free if Kaiba had asked right and paid him much less than what he was offering. Ichigo had only one request...that Kaiba never ask him to kill in the line of duty, no matter how much someone pissed him off.

Considering that was pretty reasonable, Kaiba agreed to add it to the contract.

With a single signature, Ichigo had his first job. And he was still in high school.

Ichigo would start work in a couple of hours, while Kaiba did a little...spring cleaning...of his board room. However when Ichigo got a good look at the security detail (Kaiba had sent him images of his current security so he would know who he would be working with) Ichigo raised an immediate alarm.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but it looks like we'll have to do an overhaul on the security too."

"Why?"

"I recognize four of these guys from the island, back when we were pissing off that jerk Pegasus. They were among our more persistent stalkers," said Ichigo

"Point them out and let me know if you recognize anyone else who's double-dipping," said Kaiba.

Ichigo went over each picture carefully, mentally marking the pictures who resembled any of the goons he saw stalking them on the island. He found two more out of the twenty. He made sure to slide them on the tablet Kaiba handed him.

"These are the ones I saw, or at least caught a glimpse of in the castle while I was trying to find you. I didn't get a good look at them, but it might be a good idea to do a thorough background check just in case. Need any help ousting the idiots who tried to have you and Mokuba 'dealt' with?"

"...How terrifying is that 'dark' side of you?"

"Enough that the weak willed will have trouble standing. Plus that cackle of his?"

"Sold. Bring him out and put the fear of death into these creeps."

Shirosaki's cackle was indeed terrifying. It made most of the board members actually wet themselves...though it could have also been the dead shark-like look in Kaiba's eyes.

Ichigo was more than happy to grab the fat bastards and kick them out on the ass. What few security members that didn't get cut were equally happy to kick them out.

"Please tell me we got that on tape," said Mokuba.

Ichigo pulled up the security tapes.

"Hello blooper reel. Should we post this online?" said Ichigo to Kaiba.

"As what?"

"Corrupt Ex-executives get the boot?" suggested Ichigo. Considering he had been wearing boots at the time (as had the other security guards) it was sure to be an ironic hit.

Ichigo wasn't the only one grinning when that particular video took off...it even made the news.

_**Ex-Kaiba Corp Board Executives Given the 'Boot'. Suspected of attempting kidnapping of Vice-President Mokuba Kaiba and attempted murder of owner Seto Kaiba. Trial pending!**_

"How much did you get?"

"Blackmail wise? A lot. I threatened to sick your dark side on Pegasus and he caved pretty damn fast. Well that and apparently they pissed him off too," said Kaiba.

"So any luck replacing the guards who were double-dipping job wise?"

"More or less. Though I'm having trouble finding a replacement for the last spot. Too many candidates and not enough reason to hire them. Either they mercenaries, which means they can be bought off, or they've got questionable service records. And I can't vet every single ex-soldier trying to get hired."

Ichigo considered that, before a wild idea came to him.

"Would you have use for a guy who can literally rip a power pole that's anchored in cement out of the ground, yet wouldn't hurt a fly?"

"You're kidding."

"I have a friend, Chad. One time while I was still in Karakura he ripped out an entire power pole out of the street and used it like a fly swatter. I heard it baffled the cops because they couldn't figure out how the heck someone could rip out the pole because there wasn't any reports or signs of heavy machinery and they didn't believe the witnesses who claimed they saw him lift it up."

"Okay now I know you've got to be bullshitting me. There is no way a _human_ could rip a log big enough to hold a power conduit out of the ground with his bare hands."

Ichigo rattled off the date, and Kaiba looked up reports from the power company, the insurance company and the cops. He couldn't help staring while he read the reports and the clear bafflement of the cops.

"Okay, I give. How the hell did he rip a power pole out of the ground when it was anchored by...four feet of solid cement?"

"Look up Yasutora Sado. I think he had to get a passport from when he moved back from Mexico after his grandfather died," said Ichigo.

"I thought his name was Chad?"

"That's just what I call him, since I suck at remembering names unless something sticks out."

Kaiba looked him up...the guy was a freaking giant.

"What sort of person is he?"

"He's a giant and looks mean, but he's pretty much a teddy bear. He promised his grandfather never to use his absurd strength for himself, so I told him if he wouldn't beat up the idiots trying to bother him, I would. And in exchange he'd do the same for me. He's also pretty good with kids, since he gets along with my sisters pretty well...and he's quiet. Really quiet."

"...I can give him a try, but no guarantees."

He wasn't going to hire someone out of the blue because he happened to be an old friend of Ichigo's. That was where mistakes happened.


	5. Chapter 5

Ichigo did keep in contact with his old friends from Karakura. Usually a few e-mails back and forth. Orihime was in Tokyo at a Culinary school learning how to cook _normal_ foods. Uryu was in a mock med school in between taking his usual classes at the suggestion of his father. And Chad...well he was in a stricter school because of the 'delinquent' behavior back in Karakura, despite the fact he never started anything. He was always the one who _finished_ fights.

So the chance to leave the rather unpleasant school where his after-hours activities were strictly monitored...Chad agreed pretty quickly, even if it meant he was in a different classroom than Ichigo.

"Ichigo," said Chad.

"Hey Chad. How's the new apartment?"

"Better than the last one. At least this time it's not in the slums," said Chad.

"So this is your friend?" asked Kaiba.

Chad looked at the brown-haired, sharp blue eyed teen. He held out his hand "Yasutora Sado."

"Seto Kaiba," he replied, shaking it firmly. Chad's grip was strong, but not so strong that it would crush his hand.

"So what was this I heard about a possible job?" asked Chad.

"I've had to do a complete revamp of my security. Most of the spots are already taken by new employees, but there was one open. Ichigo suggested you might be a good fit," said Kaiba. He was already liking Sado, because he didn't beat around the bush. This Yasutora was imposing, but quiet. He made a much better intimidation factor compared to Shirosaki, who just scared people shitless and that was it.

"What would the job entail?"

"Mostly body guard duty. I'm the one watching his little brother, and I figured you were a pretty good fit to keep an eye on him, especially during school hours. We can switch on and off, since I know I can trust you to watch my back," said Ichigo.

"I'm willing to give you a two-week trial basis. If you can pass, I'll give you the same contract I gave Ichigo," said Kaiba.

Chad looked at Ichigo.

"Really good dental, excellent health coverage, extremely good pay, considering you're mostly acting as an intimidation factor. And no killing, no matter how much someone pisses him off," Ichigo listed.

"Absolutely no killing?"

"None, unless in self-defense or defense of the Kaiba brothers, and only if absolutely necessary. It was one of the things I insisted on."

"Mind if I read it first?" asked Chad. He wasn't signing anything he didn't read first. It was something he had learned the hard way when he almost ended up in a gang two weeks in to his temporary school.

Kaiba handed over the contract. It was almost the same as Ichigo's, except it had a two-week trial period. Once he was sure there wasn't anything that would come back to haunt him later, he signed his name.

* * *

Yugi took one look at the transfer student, and gulped. Yasutora Sado was big and rather rough looking. Like he could chew nails and throw a cannon ball right back at you. He wore the uniform openly, mostly because they didn't have any that could fit him without custom ordering.

He took a seat where one of the former school bullies _used_ to sit, before Ichigo convinced him to seek new territory.

Ichigo hated bullies, because the idiots always thought he was a delinquent thanks to his natural hair color. So he decided to take a proactive approach and made their lives hell. It didn't take long before the bullies decided to find new 'stomping' ground, if only to avoid the terrifying orange-haired teen.

And if that wasn't motivation enough, thanks to the return of his hollow side (and the unexpected addition of Kaitou), there was soon a shortage of those who would target the weaker students. Kaitou certainly wasn't complaining about the large victim base.

Most of the students were wary of bothering the new student. He was big, clearly foreign, and not much of a talker. Then he surprised everyone by getting into an in-depth conversation with Ichigo over the layout of Domino.

It was at that point most of them realized this...Yasutora...was in fact a friend of the orange haired teen. That seemed to break the ice a bit.

"So...Ichigo, who's the new guy?"

"Chad? He's an old friend from Karakura. I suggested he move here since the school he was assigned to wasn't really working out at all," said Ichigo.

"I thought his name is Yasutora?" asked Ryou.

"Ichigo has a bad memory for names, unless he interacts with them repeatedly or they're particularly noteworthy. The first time we meet, he said I looked like a 'Chad' and the name stuck," rumbled Yasutora.

"Chad's strong, but his grandfather made him promise never to use that strength for himself. So once I got him out of the chains a local gang had him in, I made him a deal. I would fight off the idiots who thought that just because he wouldn't fight back made him an easy target, and in exchange he'd watch my back against the idiots who think I dye my hair this color," said Ichigo.

"Chains?" said Jounouchi.

"Some local punks had him in metal chains the first time I met him, so I figured I'd deal with them. Didn't find out till after that he could have dealt with them himself, if he hadn't promised his grandfather never to use his strength for anything short of defending others."

Seeing the looks on their faces, Ichigo smirked.

"Chad looks like a tough guy, but he's a total softie at heart."

If promoting the fact Chad was actually a nice guy (if a bit of a Sasquatch) finally got him a girlfriend, then Ichigo was going to make sure that his fresh start worked out.

There was one girl who was likely to have similar interests as Chad, though she was a bit ditzy. Miho-chan was one of those girls obsessed over anything cute. She had fifty Kuriboh for crying out loud.

(And the only reason Ichigo knew what _that_ looked like was because of Duelist Kingdom. Mostly because of Yugi's duels against others.)

Chad, despite the fact he was a giant, loved cute things. He once took in a possessed bird because it was cute.

* * *

"Woah...he's huge!" said Mokuba in shock.

Mokuba had yet to hear about the possible bodyguard for his older brother. For the most part, Chad would just be a background threat.

While Kaiba did his work as the owner of Kaiba corp, Chad would most likely be doing the same thing Ichigo did while the brothers filed paperwork.

Their homework and studying. Most of the time, they weren't exactly needed to fight, and keeping their grades up was a good way to kill time until they could switch off with Shirosaki, who usually spent that time hanging around Kaitou and dealing with the gang element of Domino city.

"Chad's a big softie at heart," said Ichigo.

"So...gentle giant?" said Mokuba, looking closer at Chad.

"Pretty much."

"Huh."

"So, I heard a rumor that your brother's almost done with those portable 'duel disk' things."

"The first ones were pretty cool, but he insisted on making them better," said Mokuba, before he asked "Why do you care anyway?"

"Was wondering if this means we'll be running around the city for a few weeks. If I know your brother, I bet you anything he'll come up with another tournament solely to promote his new toys and to see if he can't have another shot at beating that spirit in Yugi's puzzle again."

Mokuba snorted in agreement.

"That's a fool's bet. If I were you, I'd start stocking up on power bars and on-the-go meals now, and make sure to have a bag full of them for when he gets it up and running."

Ichigo shared a look with Chad.

"You want to be running around town with him, or should I?"

"Why would we be running around town?"

"I know my brother. Odds are he'll have me acting as game commissioner to enforce the rules. And since I can't legally drive..."

"Well if nothing else, you could ride piggy back on one of us. Not like you're too heavy to carry around, and it keeps you close," said Ichigo.

Mokuba's eyes lit up. There wasn't a kid in the world who didn't love riding piggy back while running.

* * *

Ichigo walked into the office and took his spot while Kaiba did his work.

"I heard that toy comment Kurosaki."

"Considering the whole place is wired into one big mainframe, I figured you would," deadpanned Ichigo. The entire building was electronically wired. Nothing happened that Kaiba didn't know about.

"I got a strange e-mail an hour ago. A woman by the name of Ishizu Ishtar requested a meeting for next month. She said something about a 'great danger' heading my way."

Ichigo snorted.

"More like she saw Yugi's Puzzle was completed and now all the others are going to be coming out of the woodworks. Speaking of coming out of the woodworks..." said Ichigo, spotting familiar red hair below. He reached into his bag and found some binoculars.

Sure enough, it was Renji. Which meant Rukia was nearby, or coming soon.

"What's wrong?"

"An old friend is here. I better stop him before he accidentally pisses off the new security."

Ichigo paused by the door and called Chad in. Mokuba and his brother worked together while Ichigo went to see Renji.

* * *

"I'm sorry sir, you're not allowed in without an appointment," said the secretary tightly. And even then she wasn't too sure she wanted him in the building. Odds were Mr. Kaiba would throw him out anyway if he did get in.

His clothes were extremely out of date.

The red haired man looked like a cross between a thug and a hippie.

"Look, I only came here to see..."

"Renji!" someone called out from the elevator.

Renji Aburai looked relieved to see Ichigo there.

"I'll handle this," said Ichigo to the secretary. She nodded and went back to work.

"Ichigo, what are you doing in this place anyway?"

"I'm a bodyguard. I'm currently on break, by the way."

"Bodyguard?" said Renji.

"Pay's better than what I would get at a fast food place or stocking shelves, and I have time to actually keep my grades up. It's a better deal than what I got helping the Soul Society," shrugged Ichigo, deftly leading Renji outside the building.

"Ichigo," said another familiar face. It was Rukia.

"Rukia."

"We heard from Urahara that the living are stealing souls."

"More like some ancient Egyptian artifacts are coming out of the woodwork, and they all have the same annoying ability to drag souls out of their bodies. Didn't Urahara catch you up on this stuff, or did you just come here direct?"

Judging by their looks, they came directly to Domino. Ichigo sighed.

"Go to Karakura, get updated on the current situation...and for the love of kami, next time you want to meet up just call! I can't have you two coming to where I work and demanding I take a break whenever you show up! The guy I work for now would get seriously pissed off if I did!"

"What exactly do you do here anyway?" asked Rukia.

"The guy who owns this building? I'm his new bodyguard for him and his kid brother. And since the younger one has a bad habit of being kidnapped by people who want to use him against his brother, that means I can't exactly leave work at the drop of a hat without getting someone to fill in. Which means even if my powers did come back I couldn't hunt hollows like I did in Karakura. It was killing my grade point average anyway."

Hunting hollows for hours on end? It had been murder for his GPA, which he needed if he ever wanted to get into college or hired at a decent job.

"Well if you don't need us why did you call Urahara?" demanded Renji. He was more than irritated Ichigo had called the former captain of Squad 12 reporting someone was messing with souls and was now telling them to get lost.

Ichigo's flat look spoke volumes.

"I _thought_ the Soul Society should know about someone stealing souls and have a forewarning this time. Considering what happened a couple of months ago I thought you lot would appreciate the heads up, especially since from what I understand it's going to pick up really soon."

"Ichigo, the next time you call about souls being taken, make sure that there are actual victims," said Rukia frostily. They had looked around and there weren't any victims.

Ichigo watched them leave, and he was more than a bit pissed off. It had never occurred to them that _maybe_ the situation he mentioned earlier had resolved itself, but it was going to happen again? If they were going to be assholes about it, then he wasn't going to bother keeping them informed at all.

Once he was sure they were gone, the first thing he did was call Urahara.

"_Urahara's shop! How can I help you Ichigo?"_

"Urahara, next time I tell you about souls being take by Egyptian artifacts, don't bother reporting it. Rukia and Renji showed up, and they were being real assholes because they thought I was making it up."

You could hear to silence on the other end.

"_So you just want to label this entire mess and anything pertaining to it as a need-to-know problem?"_

"If it means telling them to shove their demands for information up their ass, then yes. If they aren't going to believe me about these stupid things being active, then I'm not going to care if it comes back later to bite them in the ass. They should know I wouldn't lie about this sort of thing," said Ichigo pissed off.

"_Just keep me updated on anything you learn about this, and I'll keep quiet about any soul stealing. If it does get out of hand, I'll come with Tessai, Yoruichi and the Visoreds to lend you a hand,"_ said Urahara. Considering he was still persona-non-grata with the Soul Society, he could understand why Ichigo was pissed off about the fact Rukia and Renji had dismissed his claims. If they weren't going to take this seriously, then those who stayed in the world of the living would handle it and tell the Soul Society where they could shove their demands.

Besides...the former Captains of the Kido squad, the 2nd and 12th divisions as well as the Visoreds might be considered overkill when it came to back up. They didn't really need the Soul Society for help.


	6. Chapter 6

Chad and Ichigo were eating a pizza. Chad had kept his questions about how it went, and was privately wondering why Rukia or Renji wasn't with them. He had seen Renji's hair and Rukia had to be nearby.

Finally as the movie ended, Chad spoke up.

"So when are Rukia or Renji coming over?"

"They're not," said Ichigo, his tone more than a bit annoyed.

Chad blinked.

"They're not?"

"They didn't believe the report I sent about what happened to Yugi's grandfather or Kaiba. In fact Rukia pretty much said that I shouldn't bother calling them through Urahara without actual victims," said Ichigo, his tone pissed. Not at his friend, but at the soul reapers.

"What did Urahara say?"

"If it gets out of control he'll send Tessai, Yoruichi or the Visoreds our way as back up...or come himself. Otherwise to keep him informed of anything we learn. And if the Soul Society asks why we didn't say anything, we tell them to shove their demands where the sun don't shine," said Ichigo succinctly.

All the hell he went through, all the pain, all the battles...and the second he loses his powers they dismiss him like some uninformed civilian they can erase the memories of when all was said and done? If that was the case, Ichigo could care less if the Seireitei burned to the ground.

In reality he had reached another level of his depression. Anger. Once he realized the Soul Society didn't care about him without his powers, that anger would bleed into the next stage...at least he could skip past the part where he tried to make useless bargains and move straight to acceptance of the current situation.

If they weren't going to take him seriously, then he saw no reason to tell them his powers had come back, or that he had possibly gained new ones.

"I noticed you were looking at cards earlier," said Chad, changing the subject.

Ichigo snorted.

"It was partially out of boredom, partly so I could shut people up. I swear the entire school is obsessed with that stupid game."

Ichigo had, during his break, made a mock deck and played a few short duels.

He knew the basics, but he didn't think he would become as obsessed as his boss was...or nearly the entire city.

Unknown to Ichigo, Kaiba monitored all outgoing and ingoing data from the building...and he had been highly amused when his bodyguard finally caved into the duel monsters craze.

If Ichigo asked, Kaiba would help him get his own deck, if only for the entertainment of seeing Ichigo's expressions as he kept getting bothered for duels.

"What kind of deck was it?" asked Ryou. Since he lived in the apartment above Ichigo's, he often came by. Mostly because Kaitou seemed to genuinely like the teen and it meant he would bother Ichigo's darker nature than the poor guy stuck with him in his head.

"No idea. It's a mix of something called the 'Charmer' set and a bunch of samurai cards I found while scrolling through the lists. I figured what the hell, why not since I had already finished my homework for the next three days, and made a deck using the two as the base," said Ichigo.

"Why Charmer?"

"I liked Dharc the Dark Charmer. From what I read on the bio, Dharc is the lone male of the group," shrugged Ichigo.

"So I heard there's going to be a big Egyptian exhibit in a few weeks," said Ryou.

Ichigo groaned.

"Thanks for reminding me. Chad, you wanna guard Kaiba for that or should I?"

Chad blinked.

"He's going to the exhibit?"

"More like the curator that came with it invited him for a private meeting, and from what I saw she had one of the items like Ryou and Yugi have," clarified Ichigo.

"No offense Ryou, but count me out. Those items freak me out."

"None taken," said Ryou amused.

The door opened, revealing a happy Kaitou and Shiro.

"_Did you see that idiot's face?"_

Shiro cackled.

"Have fun?" asked Ichigo, not even getting up.

"_Some losers in cloaks showed up and tried to get into our official turf. Weird thing was they had the Eye on the hoods,"_ said Kaitou.

That got Ichigo's attention.

"Kaitou, do any of the Items look like a necklace with the eye at the forefront?"

Kaitou blinked.

"_You got a picture?"_

"Hang on... Here. This is a picture that was sent to Kaiba so he'd know what the curator looked like. However it's what's around her neck that raised the alarm bells to me," said Ichigo.

Kaitou took one look at the necklace and grimaced.

"_The Millennium Necklace. It's main power is visions, either through time or manufactured."_

"Great..." said Ichigo.

Kaitou looked at Ichigo with a sharp gaze.

"_You said she asked for a private audience with rich boy?"_

"She's also bringing a bunch of Egyptian artifacts for an exhibit," said Ichigo.

Kaitou grimaced.

"_I bet you five thousand she's here because of the Chibi-brigade."_

Duelist Kingdom had been televised internationally. Odds were those with the Items had seen the Puzzle was complete and were coming out of the woodwork to either join the Pharaoh or try to take the Puzzle.

Under normal circumstances, Kaitou would be amused and cheering on anyone trying to kill the Pharaoh.

However Ichigo had called in Urahara to see if he could remove the 'addition' to the Ring. As it turned out, there was a very nasty spirit that had been stuck inside the Ring with Kaitou. One that had been influencing him subtly.

It had taken them a week and a rather large fight in Urahara's underground training ground where Ichigo got to reconnect with his zanpakuto Zangetsu, but they managed to get rid of the thing.

They didn't know who or what this 'Zorc' was, but from the way Ryou reacted the name it wasn't good. Kaitou wasn't pleased with it's presence either.

But the change was very clear once it was gone. Kaitou wasn't nearly as hostile to the Pharaoh, and Ryou got along a little better with him.

Well...that and Ichigo gave Kaitou a reason _not_ to kill the other spirit or the body he was inhabiting. He had a problem with the thief killing someone he considered someone so innocent, so he suggested instead that he make the Pharaoh's life hell. Whether it was through pranks, snide remarks, or just being an ass, it didn't matter.

Sometimes being alive was worse than dying, a fact Ichigo reminded him of. There was also the fact that Ichigo said he didn't _have_ to be nice to Yugi, but he wasn't allowed to go out of his way to try and be a pain in the ass. So long as their paths didn't cross too often, he could handle being civil to the runt.

The Pharaoh, not so much. He hated the guy, plain and simple. He didn't have to be civil with the other spirit.

Probably why Kaitou got along so well with Ichigo. Ichigo knew how to handle people with his personality.

"So basically watch out for illusions," said Ichigo summing it up.

"_Pretty much."_

Ichigo sighed.

"I might as well brush up on my Egyptian history then. How much you wanna bet she'll try to pull a fast one and convince Kaiba he's 'destiny-bound' to fight Yugi because of some reincarnation bullshit?"

"_No bet. I remember most of the court and the Pharaoh had a cousin that looked like a darker skinned Kaiba. He _used_ to possess the Millennium Rod, which allows for mass mind control...shit. I bet that's who's behind the recent batch of morons in town!"_

"Anything in particular to watch out for?"

"_The Rod can twist open to reveal a hidden dagger under the Eye,"_ said Kaitou.

"Thanks. Want us to keep an eye out for these losers in cloaks, or should I send you in their direction?"

"_Fifty-fifty. Let me think on that,"_ said Kaitou after considering it.

"I don't know whether to be disturbed or relieved you get along with him so well," admitted Ryou. It was kind of weird.

Chad snorted.

"Ichigo gets along with battle-crazed morons all the time. If you ever met Kenpachi Zaraki or Squad Eleven you'd know what a berserker was. So long as they have a worthy opponent, or the promise of a good fight later, they don't care who you are. Easiest way to avoid him killing you is to send you in Ichigo's direction," said Chad.

"Thank kami he doesn't know I have my powers again...on second thought, Shiro, when he does find out I'm sending him your way unless I'm bored."

"**Kekeke...And this is why I like you King, you provide the best entertainment! I don't mind being a shield against the eyepatch idiot so long as I get to play!"**

"Eyepatch?"

"Too much power, not enough control or restraint. He had the research division make an eye patch that would constantly eat at his spiritual energy so he could have more fun and only release his full power on those who were worthy of it," explained Ichigo.

"_Meh. You go read up on the time period and I'll quiz you while making a mockery of the bastards who I remember or heard about."_

"That's the only reason I can remember half of that crap," admitted Ichigo. Kaitou was great for when he studied on Egyptian history...his sarcastic and bored remarks actually made it easier to remember whatever Ichigo read about, because he would think of the name, place or odd historical fact and then a comment he made about it that made Ichigo laugh. It was strangely effective.

* * *

Ichigo was dressed up in his usual outfit. When he was off-duty, he wore slightly loose jeans and a clean t-shirt. When he was guarding the Kaiba brothers with Chad however...

He had on a very smart vest that was discreetly made of Kevlar, a pressed white shirt that was easy to move in and designed by martial artists, jeans that fit and were made of the same thing as the vest, but could be ripped away in the event he needed to move faster. His shoes would have been standard combat boots, but Ichigo was so used to the straw footing the Soul Reapers used that he went for something a little different. His shoes were more along the lines of something competitive runners wore, or maybe Yoruichi. The shoes were made for pure speed and fast running without slipping on surfaces. To top it all off, Ichigo had a pair of sunglasses that were specially designed by a bored Kaiba. It had a schematic of whatever building he entered within five seconds, while at the same time providing a slight reflection behind him.

In short Ichigo was prepared for trouble...and had an ace up his sleeve that most wouldn't know about.

Shortly after Shirosaki's return (and by extension Zangetsu who got over being pissed with him two weeks later), Ichigo mastered bringing out his sword without having to go into soul reaper form to do it. It was something he wanted to do ever since finding out his father had been a soul reaper, and that he naturally inherited the power. Since that was the case, then it only made sense he could bring out his sword without having to ditch his body in the process.

So far he could handle the shikai, but he couldn't handle activating his bankai just yet. To be fair, his shikai was a permanent release one, and using the attack from his sword was extremely taxing. He could only use one or two at a time before he was exhausted.

He had yet to even consider trying soul form, seeing as how in a fit of depression he had left behind the badge...and Kon was still on his shit list for something he said before.

Ichigo maintained his professional demeanor even as he was threatening to yawn. Kaiba grinned at him.

"Late night?"

"Kaitou quizzed me for four hours about ancient Egypt. Luckily I got up to speed on the era those stupid Items came from, so if she tries to pull a fast one I'll know. Coincidentally, she might try the 'reincarnated rivals' bull on you."

Kaiba blinked.

"Why?"

"Apparently the Pharaoh who inhabits Yugi had a cousin who looks exactly like you," said Ichigo.

He winced.

"Thanks for the warning."

"No problem...coincidentally if she tries to force a vision on you, I'll try to intercept it. After the last two times you had a run-in with those things, I don't trust them."

"And that's why I pay you," deadpanned Kaiba.

Ichigo cracked his neck, before he got out first.

"What do you think, park the car or keep it running?"

"Better to be safe than sorry. Park it, but keep an eye out in case we come out running," said Ichigo.

"Gotcha," said the driver.

One look at the curator and he knew he made the right call. She looked like one of those people who enjoyed talking too much and felt self-important because of some 'duty'.

Considering what he read about her background from the profile he had the PI dig up, it was likely she felt entitled to make people listen to her because she served the Pharaoh, or was part of the tribe that still guarded his secrets.

"I only said Kaiba-san was to come."

"Look I don't care how important you think you are. After the last two times he ran into an Item he ended up being comatose, I'm sure my boss would prefer a little precaution rather than going in blind like an idiot," said Ichigo flatly. Kaiba snorted in agreement.

Ishizu made a slight face.

"Very well, but please keep quiet."

Ichigo hid a smirk. He wondered how she would react if she realized he was more or less immune to her shadow magic for some reason.

After more or less tuning her out (Zangetsu was listening...Ichigo wasn't) he reacted on instinct when he felt shadow magic rise.

It hit him instead of Kaiba, which told the other teen she had tried something.

Ichigo took one look at the scene, and scoffed. He raised his spirit pressure, breaking the illusion and returning to normal.

"That...was not a smart move."

"How did you... Breaking shadow magic like that is impossible!" said Ishizu shocked.

"I'm guessing this shadow magic crap is based on the strength of one's soul and will, right?"

She nodded.

Ichigo smirked.

"Lady, you've got nothing on the power of my soul or stubbornness. And I already warned you not to try that crap on my employer."

With his powers restored, he highly doubted these Item holders had encountered a soul reaper before, let alone one of his level. He wondered how she would have been able to handle someone like Byakuya or even Kenpachi.

"You have two minutes before we leave and forget about your proposal," said Kaiba icily.

"And you already used what little chance you by trying to force a vision of the 'past' on him," said Ichigo.

"Fine, if you will not listen to the truth, the see with your own eyes!" said Ishizu annoyed. She revealed a large stone tablet, which had Ichigo scoffing loudly to.

"Please tell me that not your best piece of evidence that you're telling the truth, because that looks beyond fake," he said.

That pissed her off, but she kept her calm.

"What makes you think it is a fake?"

"The stone is raised, and every single piece of ancient Egyptian art I've ever seen was painted. The condition makes it even more suspect, because there should be some degradation, yet I see none. Not to mention from what I understand of Egypt around the time, the hair is all wrong. Royalty in general wore elaborate headdresses and shaved their own off, because of the many styles the hair had to be put in. Particularly the Pharaohs," said Ichigo.

Seeing her stare, Ichigo smirked.

"My employer keeps getting thrown into crap from Egypt all the way from five thousand years ago. What kind of bodyguard would I be if I didn't do my homework on the subject, if only so I can tell if someone's being truthful or not? Not to mention the fact I live right below someone who happens to hold the soul of the Tomb Robber who is the only survivor of the same village that was massacred and then melted down into the same Items you now carry," said Ichigo.

"You know the location of the Tomb Robber?!" she said hysterically.

"He's a bloodthirsty psychopath who happens to like me. You should be glad I convinced him to be an asshole instead of trying to kill the Pharaoh outright, especially since he's actually weaker because his memories have become all jumbled up."

"You have thirty seconds. Talk fast or we're leaving," said Kaiba irritated.

Ishizu told him about the three cards Pegasus recreated, and Ichigo made a note to find out which Egyptian gods they actually represented. While the Winged Dragon of Ra was fairly obvious, the others, not so much.


	7. Chapter 7

"_Well?"_

"You keeping me up for four extra hours paid off. I shut her up when I recognized inconsistencies in her story and 'evidence'. Coincidentally have you heard of something called the 'god cards'?"

"_God cards? I've heard of three rare monsters from the Realm of the Beasts who could beat Exodia, but I've never heard of something called a god card."_

"Slifer the Sky Dragon, Winged Dragon of Ra..."

"_Obelisk the Tormenter,"_ finished Kaitou. He pinched the bridge of his nose. _"That idiot horse recreated those damn things too?"_

"She gave Kaiba Obelisk, and said her younger brother has Ra and Slifer," said Ichigo.

"_Dammit. Did she try to force a vision?"_

"Should have seen her expression when I broke it. In fact..."

Ichigo pulled up a recording for Kaitou to watch. When he got to the part where Ichigo casually mentioned he knew the Tomb Robber and she freaked out, he cackled.

"Knowing Kaiba, he'll have the tournament in a few weeks. Keep an eye out for trouble," said Ichigo.

"_In other words make sure the new moron doesn't kidnap the brat,"_ said Kaitou. He liked Mokuba, to a point.

"I'll pay you a thousand for each kidnap attempt you prevent," said Ichigo.

"_Deal."_

* * *

"Okay, so what exactly am I looking at?"

On Ichigo's 'desk' where he usually did his homework and killed time, was a box. Inside the box was a duel monster's deck...and when he looked at the cards he raised an eyebrow.

"Did you really think I would miss someone playing games on my servers? Especially when I realized what you were playing?" asked Kaiba dryly.

"So...you hacked my account and decided to recreate the deck I had been playing around with?" concluded Ichigo.

"Any new cards you get come out of your paycheck, and it needed a little tightening down. And if I find out Mokuba was captured while you were dueling someone I'll skin your hide," said Kaiba flatly.

"No worries there. I already promised that nut Kaitou a thousand every time he stops a kidnapping attempt when I'm unavailable," said Ichigo offhand.

"You trust that psycho with my little brother?"

Ichigo shrugged.

"Kaitou likes kids, to a certain extent. Besides, from what I understand he's already pissed by the idiots in the cloaks," said Ichigo.

"Whatever. As long as Mokuba is safe I could care less if you contract out."

There was a sudden beep on Ichigo's phone. If someone was trying to get a hold of him, that was the easiest way to do it.

"Hello? Tatsuki? What do you mean Orihime's planning to enter the tournament next week?! Since when does she even... Well yeah a Fairy deck suits her, but... No, I won't let her meet my boss. Because I'm not an idiot that's why!"

Kaiba listened to the conversation with open amusement. Good to know his bodyguard had enough sense not to try and introduce him to any females.

"Let me put it this way, if Byakuya could be classed as anti-social, then my boss would classify as a closet shut-in!"

"I heard that," said Kaiba. Mokuba, who had been bringing paperwork in, snickered.

"Well you don't really have a social life nii-san," said Mokuba. Kaiba glared at his little brother. Mokuba snickered even more.

"I'm not exaggerating. He barely gets along with me, let alone our classmates. Besides, Orihime's personality is practically the polar opposite of his. I'm not about to subject her to his sharp tongue. Or worse, subject him to her cooking. I don't care if she's gotten better, I remember some of the concoctions she used to make and eat like it was nothing! Yeah, I'll try to keep an eye out for her. Ja ne," said Ichigo.

"Do I really want to know?" asked Kaiba.

"Apparently one of my old friends happens to play, and she really wants to meet you. If you do run into a female with hair about the same shade as mine with an F-cup chest and ditzy personality, under no circumstances do you eat anything she offers unless you are absolutely positive it's normal."

"...That sounds like something out of a manga," said Kaiba.

"Oh it gets worse. She used to eat chocolate ice cream with mayonnaise, hot sauce and wasabi paste and not think twice about offering it to others," said Ichigo. He had seen it once, and he had nearly thrown up at the _idea_ of trying any. Kaiba and Mokuba looked a little green too.

"Seriously?"

"She got sent to Culinary school by the Home Ec teacher. He was hoping she'd learn how to cook normally."

"So what was that about fairies?"

"Orihime has a rare ability that's centered around her hair pins. They turn into six fairies, but her attack is weak as hell. Her healing ability is top notch, but that's mostly because she literally rejects wounds," said Ichigo.

"Reject wounds?"

"It caused a lot of trouble a couple months ago."

"So your friend is going to try her luck using the new duel disks?"

"Probably. Either that or she'll be an observer. She might be a ditz, but she's good at defense. Odds are she'll trick her opponents into losing their life points by trying to attack her face down monsters, or through using up their decks," said Ichigo shrugging. Orihime wasn't much of a fighter, hence why Tsubaki was pretty weak attack wise.

It pissed off the fairy to no end.

"Those are highly annoying. I'll look her up to see if she's any good. I'm not about to have weak willed duelist in the tournament."

"You mean like Miho?"

"Exactly. It would be an embarrassment. So what's her name?"

"Inoue Orihime."

Kaiba ran her through a search engine, and his eyebrows shot up.

"I thought you said she wasn't much of a fighter?"

"She's not. At least not from what I saw. She's more of a healer," said Ichigo.

Kaiba tilted the monitor, and Ichigo's jaw dropped.

Orihime was a five-time regional champion. She had dropped out of the dueling circuit roughly around the time Ichigo's powers started manifesting, but it said she had recently won another tournament using an entirely new deck that was fairy based.

She was called the Fairy Queen of duel monsters.

"Huh. You think you know a person. I didn't know she was a regional champion."

"According to this she's on the level of Mai Kujaku," said Kaiba, reading the article in question. "They're supposedly old rivals, though Mai has claimed that's just a rumor since and I'm quoting her on this 'Inoue is too air headed to take seriously'."

"That sounds like Orihime. She sometimes goes off in her own little world and creates these beyond random scenarios without warning, only to wake up making some off the wall comments."

"Well if this is any indication of her skill, she might actually be worth dueling," said Kaiba.

Kaiba made a note to send her an invite to the tournament. If she was good enough to be consider the Harpy Queen's rival, then she would definitely be a good addition to his tournament. If nothing else he could set her on the runt and watch the mutt's head explode.

* * *

Shirosaki was doing his usual rounds in the abandoned warehouse district when he heard the distinct sound of fire. Normally he would ignore it, but he also heard someone familiar.

Yugi Muto.

"**Che. King would yell at me if I didn't at least go look..."**

Shiro went to find out what the fuss was about, and immediately ran in once he realized what was going on.

Yugi was inside trying to reassembled the broken Puzzle, which was hung on a thick chain. There was no way in hell he would be able to remove it considering how high it was and where it was hung.

Shiro got onto the platform and removed the chain from the hook that Yugi had no way of reasonably reaching. He made sure Yugi had all the pieces he was trying to put back together before he grabbed the kid and ran out of the building, which was completely engulfed in flames.

Once in the light of day, Yugi gaped when he recognized what he thought was Ichigo.

"Ichigo?"

"**I'm not King. What the hell were you doing around here anyway runt?"**

"Bandit Keith stole my Puzzle and dueled me. He was acting weird though."

Shiro rolled his eyes.

"**Was this idiot wearing a black robe and had an odd echo effect to his voice?"**

"Yeah!"

"**Then it wasn't Keith. Some idiot from Egypt with a Millennium Item is heading this way to try and beat the Pharaoh, and he probably thought you would be weak enough to steal the Puzzle from. Speaking of which, keep an eye out for more of these idiots during the tournament. Your little Puzzle is going to be bringing out more and more of them like locusts,"** said Shiro.

"Who are you?"

"**Call me Shirosaki. I'm King's instincts, more or less. Consider me Ichigo's dark side. Now are you going to be alright if I leave you? I have to finish patrolling the unused warehouses for trouble."**

Yugi looked confused.

"Why are you patrolling the warehouse district?"

"**Kaitou, the spirit of the Millennium Ring, and I came to an agreement after Duelist Kingdom. He gets the idiots who thrill in the back alleys of the city, and I got the warehouse district in case I have to fight since I cause too much collateral damage. Between the two of us we've knocked out the serious crime by thirty percent. The cops don't know whether to love us or hate us," **shrugged Shiro.

On one hand, they made things easier for the cops because most of the less pleasant criminal elements left town after having to face the combined force of Shirosaki and Kaitou.

Between Shiro's ability to deliver a beat down consistently and lack of care towards debilitating injuries, and Kaitou's far-too-stab-happy nature they felt safer in other cities. Which meant drug-activity took the sharpest nose dive in police history, as did illegal contraband. The black market duel monsters rings, however, suddenly saw an increase in activity since neither Shiro or Kaitou actually cared about stolen cards.

However thieves suddenly found a new king of the mountain, as Kaitou swiftly organized them into his own personal army. Theft rose, as did the number of crimes related to assault.

Though most of that was Shiro beating the crap out of someone or Kaitou stabbing someone.

Hence why the cops weren't sure whether to love or hate them. So they settled on a simple rule. So long as they didn't actually catch the two doing something illegal, they would look the other way. After all, Shiro and Kaitou were making the cop's jobs so much easier, since they only had to deal with petty criminals and cleaning up after what was left of the major ones.

"Yugi!" yelped a voice. Shiro looked over to see Jounouchi running up.

"**Che. Looks like he can keep you out of trouble. Do me a favor, if you left any pieces behind just wait for the fire to cool down. Considering how those things were made I seriously doubt a simple fire would melt the gold," **said Shiro.

Yugi nodded. Ichigo had told him upfront how the Millennium Items were forged, a fact his grandfather had no idea about.

Shiro ran, just missing Jounouchi.

"Yugi, was that Ichigo?"

"He said something about being similar to Yami," said Yugi, shaking his head.

"Wonder what he was doing on this side of town."

"Shiro-san said this was his turf, and that the main city was Kaitou-san's area."

"Kaitou?"

"The spirit in Ryou-kun's Ring."

"Huh. You alright?"

Yugi nodded. Shiro had gotten him out before he had gotten more than minor smoke inhalation. Yugi did his best to re-solve the Puzzle, just to be sure he had all the pieces. Fortunately, it looked like he had gotten them all.

However Jounouchi's mind was on something else. Something he wasn't exactly _proud_ to admit.

Whenever he was low on cash and his dead-beat father had used up all the rent money, Jounouchi went into the richer parts of town and nicked wallets. He usually left them on the street minus a couple of bills, so the owners rarely noticed what he had done, but the fact remained, he was a thief. A decent one at that.

The problem? If what Yugi said was true, then odds are this Kaitou guy knew of him...which meant Ichigo might hear of what he did to keep food on the table in between tournaments.

* * *

"So you ran into Yugi and Jounouchi?" asked Ichigo.

"**Yeah. The runt was stuck in a warehouse that some jerk set on fire, and the mutt came running up once I knew he was alive and would live," **said Shiro.

"_Is Jounouchi the tall blond moron with the Red Eyes?_" asked Kaitou, having come in to filch some beer from Ichigo's fridge. Now Ichigo didn't drink, but he generally didn't care if Kaitou left alcohol in the fridge so long as it was clearly labeled to avoid mishaps. Ichigo also turned a blind eye if Shiro joined him, so long as _he_ didn't get stuck with his hangover.

"Yeah, why?"

"_The blond's good. He filches from rich morons at least twice a month, but does it in a way that they don't realize they've been robbed until it's too late."_

"Wait...Jounouchi is a pickpocket?"

"_I've seen his apartment. He lives in the trashier part of town, and I've heard some nasty rumors about his father and his drinking habit."_

Ichigo winced. It wasn't his place to say anything about how Jounouchi lived, since he barely knew the guy, but something about the whole situation stunk.


	8. Chapter 8

It was finally here. Ichigo and Chad (mostly Ichigo) had stocked up on enough on-the-go meals, power bars and sports drinks as they could put in their fridge.

Considering they were going to be out a lot, this kind of prep was necessary. As Mokuba predicted, his brother made him one of the game commissioners. And since neither Chad or Ichigo owned a license (let alone a bike) that meant running. A lot of running.

"Supplies?" asked Ichigo.

Chad nodded. He would be waiting in the wings with Kaiba, since he wasn't going to be running all over the city like his little brother. He would switch with Ichigo roughly around dinner time, and Ichigo would do the same tomorrow around lunch. Thankfully Kaiba wasn't having his brother out past dinner just to police his tournament.

He might be obsessed, but he wasn't an idiot.

"Got the cell's fully charged and the solar-outlet attached?"

"Got it," said Chad, holding up one of Kaiba's more interesting and useful inventions. It would keep their cell phones fully charged through sunlight.

"Do you want to grab breakfast or should I make up something quick?"

"I'll grab something."

Ichigo made sure to double-check his shoes. They were made for running long distances and were custom made for his feet only.

"That reminds me, keep an eye out for Orihime. Apparently she's going to be around for a while," said Ichigo.

"Orihime's here?"

"She's a regional duel monster's champion. Who knew?"

Chad looked just as surprised as Ichigo had been when he found out.

"So...she's a participant?"

"He sent her an invitation, and according to the registrations for the tournament, she was accepted three days ago."

"Be interesting to see her duel then," rumbled Chad. Ichigo nodded in agreement.

* * *

Ichigo ran into Orihime on the first day. Mokuba was taking a break from running, snacking on one of the protein bars and the cold drinks.

Ichigo watched her duel some random idiot, and from what he saw, she was really, really good. Better than he would have thought considering she hated fighting.

Orihime finished up her duel, took the locator card and one from the deck, before she noticed her audience.

"Ichigo-kun!" she said waving.

"Orihime, hi. This is Mokuba Kaiba," said Ichigo.

"Hello," said Mokuba, eying the girl. Ichigo evidently hadn't been over-exaggerating about her chest size.

"Hi! So where's Chad?"

"Keeping an eye on the older brother, since we're paid to watch both. We're meeting up with him at the closest restaurant at dinner since there's no way Kaiba's letting his brother stay up past ten on a school night."

"Hey! I've stayed up till twelve lots of times!"

"Yeah, but that wasn't when you were running around all day and tiring yourself out," countered Ichigo. Mokuba silently conceded his point.

Orihime noticed the four power bar wrappers.

"What's with all the protein bars?"

"We wiped out several convenience stores of their power bars four days in advance because I knew we'd be doing a lot of running and very little eating until people got the hang of the new rules. There's always some idiot that tries to skate by the new league rules and he's in charge of penalizing the repeat violators until they get the memo."

"So basically a lot of running and very little time to rest," said Orihime.

"Just like old times, right?"

"**Che! King, quit with the flirting and just make out with her already!"**

Orihime _jumped_. Then she got a good look at Shiro and her shock was pretty evident.

"Ichigo...you..."

"Apparently leaving Karakura and all that stress behind about losing my powers did me some good. I got my powers back about three months ago."

"And him?"

"His freedom is part of the deal. He gets out and I don't have to fight him in the event I have to use his mask," shrugged Ichigo.

"He hasn't eaten anyone has he?"

"**For your information princess, not even the midget or the monkey noticed King's power had come back, and they were right next to him roughly two weeks after we came back."**

"Rukia and Renji are here too?"

Ichigo's face immediately went into a neutral expression.

"They call me a liar and told me not to call the Soul Society again with wild claims. Or something to that affect. As far as I'm concerned, any trouble I have with souls is on a need-to-know basis, and they don't need to know unless they get off their asses and come here," said Ichigo flatly. Orihime winced.

"That bad?"

"I told them to go get the information they needed for the mess I found by accident, and they said not to call them back unless I had actual proof the living were meddling with souls. Urahara said he'd send Yoruichi or the Visoreds before he tells them anything, and any new data I find is going to be filed as an after-action report. If they want to come in, they're welcome to look it up after the fact," said Ichigo.

"Have you told Uryu?"

"Not yet. Figured I could get some more case files and a better understanding before I called him about this. The last thing I want is to distract him from his exams."

Orihime could understand that.

"Well if you need any help Ichigo-kun, just call me."

Ichigo handed over his phone and Orihime added her cell to it. He also gave her Chad's number just in case.

Having cell phones would have made things so much easier back when he was still working for the Soul Society.

Ichigo turned to find an amused look on Mokuba's face.

"So...is she your girlfriend?"

"An old friend," corrected Ichigo, once they were out of earshot.

Mokuba eyed him in open amusement.

"You're one of those nice guys who are absolutely clueless when there's a hot girl interested in being more than friends aren't you?" said Mokuba grinning.

"You do realize that I can tell your brother about the fact you like my sister Yuzu and open up a whole round of teasing and mocking from him right?"

That shut the kid up.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was eying the bag on Chad's back in open amusement.

"You came prepared for an on-the-go lifestyle didn't you?"

"We both came ready to run and keep running with minimal breaks. You learn to prepare after a while," rumbled Chad.

"Exactly how many of those bars and sports drinks did you pack?"

"We emptied two convenience stores of them four days in advance," he replied. Odds were they would become sick of the things before the tournament was over.

"...Why?"

"We're going to be running with your little brother all over town until the finals. Odds are we'd need a quick meal we don't have to think about to refuel in between running."

"Smart."

"More like experienced," said Chad shrugging. He would have been happy for the same consideration when they charged on the soul society. Half the time he was thirsty and starving, and the other half he was running for his life. The only reason he was still friends with Ichigo was because of a long standing respect.

Well that and because in the end, Ichigo got screwed over harder than the rest of them when he lost his powers. Hearing what Rukia and Renji said when he called them in for help spoke volumes about how the really felt since Ichigo wasn't "useful" anymore.

Kaiba was about to say something, when he saw a figure run right past him faster than he thought humanly possible.

"...Was that Ichigo with my brother on his back running faster than most cars?"

"Probably."

"Is that safe?"

"Considering Ichigo is the one holding him, definitely. Easier to carry him than wait for Mokuba to catch up," said Chad, before he smiled. "Besides, Ichigo can run faster than cars without having to pay nearly as much to maintain one."

"I'm not even going to ask. I bet his legs will be murdering him in the morning," said Kaiba finally.

"Probably," conceded Chad.

Chad suddenly turned to see...Shirosaki.

"**King ran into the princess earlier and gave her your number, so don't be surprised if she calls. Last time I saw her she was around the museum area,"** said Shiro.

"Thanks."

"**Oh don't thank me. King owes me for acting as his damn messenger since he finally _owns_ a phone,"** said Shiro flatly.

"I'll be sure to tell him," said Chad. Shiro snorted.

"I'll never get used to that," said Kaiba flatly.

"Just be glad Ichigo came to an arrangement. He used to be worse, from what I understand."

* * *

Mokuba was having a blast. Sometimes being a kid sucked (curfew, having to be driven everywhere, boring homework and having to eat _healthy_), but then there were times when he was glad he wasn't his brother's age.

This was one of those times!

Ichigo had let Mokuba ride on his back, since it was faster than any car considering traffic laws and the duels going on. He had seen cars backed up having to go around duelists, something Kaiba had forgotten about apparently. Sure it was a great show, but for drivers trying to get to work it was a royal pain in the ass.

Besides, he was faster than any car.

He even had a simple system in place. If Mokuba tapped on his left shoulder, he would turn left at the first chance, the same with the right. Two taps meant he should stop and three meant slow down. So far Mokuba had only asked him to go a little slower in the beginning. He quickly grew used to it.

Once he realized that Ichigo wasn't about to drop him, Mokuba used the GPS to direct them to the offenders who couldn't catch a hint or hadn't bothered to read the new league rules when it came out a week before the tournament. He was also on the lookout for illegal cards that managed to slip past the duel disk system, which thankfully was few and far between.

Mokuba tapped Ichigo's shoulder twice as they came up to the back alley duel. Some idiots thought that just because they were in secluded areas they could get away with breaking the tournament rules.

Unfortunately for them, Ichigo happened to be good a parkour and free running.

"Hold it!"

"Shit, it's the brat!"

"Scatter!"

Mokuba and Ichigo let them run. They would catch them later in a more open setting, if they kept trying to break the new rules.

"So...lunch?" said Ichigo. Mokuba nodded. Those bars Ichigo had in his bag were okay, but not really filling and they had a weird aftertaste. Ichigo didn't really like them, but considering all the running they were doing it was simply easier to snack on them instead of sitting down and eating something. Especially with how little time they had in between serious infractions.

Hopefully people would get with the program soon enough and learn to accept the new league rules.

* * *

Three days in, and already Ichigo had run more than he had in his entire life. On the plus side, he now had a much better understanding of Domino's layout and all the short cuts to other areas only a local would pick up by living there for a few years.

Mokuba was just as tired as Ichigo. While it had been fun riding piggy back for the first two days, after the third day it lost most of the thrill. He was never more grateful his brother insisted on a ten o'clock curfew, or if he was really pushing it for homework, twelve. It meant they could cut out the work as a rule enforcer by eight.

While riding on Ichigo's back was fun, it wasn't nearly as interesting as riding on Chad's shoulders. Chad was strong enough to let Mokuba ride like a parrot, and while he wasn't as fast being up that high was really interesting.

The only positive was that most of the duelist had finally caught on to the new rules, and only the most dense of idiots or cheaters were still being caught. Jounouchi only heard about that fact when Ichigo came down to say hi after they busted his opponent's younger brothers up on a roof with a set of binoculars and a cellphone that connected to a blue tooth in their brother's ear. Mokuba let it slide, mostly because they took the hint and didn't try again.

Mokuba heard a beep on his tablet and groaned.

"Feel up to moving?"

"Not on your life. How many fit the requirements for the finals so far?"

"Well there's my brother, obviously. Some guy name Marik, another named Namu, your friend Orihime, and the last one is that weird lady who asked for a meeting with my brother."

"So we have three more spots left. Who's close to getting the last three spots?"

"Yugi and Jounouchi, surprisingly. The last one is a throw-up," said Mokuba, reading his tablet.

"I seriously cannot wait for the freaking finals. At least then we won't be running around like headless chickens."

Mokuba thought of something and snickered.

"Did you know we've caught more infractions than the others combined? The people in charge of tracking us keep asking me how we get past all the traffic considering so many people duel right in the middle of the road. They don't believe me when I tell them you don't even _own_ a car."

Ichigo grinned. That was funny.

Another beep, this time louder.

"Huh. Looks like Yugi's in trouble again. He just went into some area with a signal jammer, so you know that can't be good."

Ichigo winced at the pins and needles in his legs. He would have trouble walking if he tried to run again today. Time to call in the cavalry.

"Oi, Shiro!"

"**What do you want King?"**

"Think you can take Mokuba to where Yugi is? Seems he's in a bit of a tight spot and I'm having trouble moving," said Ichigo. Shirosaki gave him a deadpan look.

"**Have you really forgotten about the Princess' power, or are you just that dense?"**

Ichigo processed that statement, before he facepalmed. He _had_ forgotten Orihime's healing power. Though he did wonder why Shiro always called her the Princess. Ichigo pulled out his phone and told Orihime where to find him. Thankfully, she was close by.


	9. Chapter 9

**The reason Shiro calls Orihime 'Princess' is because that's her power. The Shun Shun Rikka, or "Six Princess Protecting Flowers" according to canon.**

* * *

The first time Yugi met Ichigo's old friend Orihime, he couldn't help but stare.

Orihime had the biggest chest he had ever seen in his life. She even beat Mai, who was the only female he had any association with thanks to the Dueling Circuit. He was sure if Anzu met Orihime, she was likely to hate her on sight.

Girls were strange like that.

"This is the kid you were so worried about?" asked Orihime.

"Yugi, did you run into another nut job claiming he could use shadow powers?" asked Ichigo tiredly. Yugi nodded.

"What is with these idiots," said Mokuba, tiredly running his hand through his hair. "It's like every moron with a little bit of supernatural power thinks they can do whatever the hell they want."

"Welcome to my world," said Ichigo.

"So Yugi, did you get the last locator card or what?" asked Mokuba.

Yugi held up six cards.

"Guess that means we have only two more left," said Ichigo in relief.

"Two more what?"

"Spots to fill in the finals. Orihime has one, Kaiba has one, Mai, Marik and the curator who tried to use her Millennium Item on Kaiba, and the last one went to someone named Namu," said Ichigo listing the people in the finals.

"What about Jounouchi?" asked Yugi. Mokuba pulled out the tablet that had been serving as GPS.

"Jounouchi needs only one more card before he qualifies."

Yugi looked relieved.

"On an unrelated note, it seems his sister is going to be coming as well. My brother's been keeping track of all new arrivals under thirty, since we found out there's going to be more idiots with Items running around."

Yugi sweatdropped.

"Does he really consider anyone with a Millennium Item and idiot?" he asked.

"Well, he considers you, or more specifically the spirit you carry an extreme annoyance, if that's any consolation."

"And Ryou?"

"Necessary nuisance. Ever since we got rid of the extra, he's pretty much ignoring the Kaiba brothers unless he gets paid to care," said Ichigo immediately.

"So...I heard that you finally got a deck," said Yugi.

"No, no, no. If you want a nice normal duel, try Orihime. She's way better than I am. I still get beaten by Mokuba, and he rarely plays either!" said Ichigo.

Yugi looked at Orihime, who grinned.

"You duel?"

"I'm the Fairy Queen duelist," said Orihime.

"A nice normal duel does sound fun...plus we don't have to worry about someone trying to kill me for once," said Yugi.

"Really? How many _normal_ duels have you had during tournament?" asked Mokuba.

"Zero," deadpanned Yugi. He kept running into weirdos trying to steal his puzzle.

"Ouch," said Mokuba.

"Yugi, do you own a cell phone?" asked Ichigo tiredly.

Yugi shook his head. He couldn't afford the bill for a cell phone, and he could barely buy a game console. He was lucky that the Duel Disk was free with the invitation.

Ichigo wrote down his number.

"Next time you're about to be cornered by one of these idiots, call me."

Yugi nodded and put the card in his deck holder.

"So...about that duel?"

Orihime grinned.

Mokuba took out his tablet and sent a message to the coordination team he was going to take a break for a bit...and by extension Ichigo as well. He got a confirmation back, and the two settled down to watch it.

The second Ichigo saw the reason why Orihime was called the Fairy Queen, he choked on his drink in shock.

"You actually got Pegasus to recreate _them_?" he said in disbelief.

The Shun Shun Rikka. The primary voices of Orihime's power of absolute rejection. Six fairies, all contained in Orihime's hair pins that she got from her brother before he died.

And they were on the field as duel monster cards.

The Fairy Healers, based on the two fairies that healed any injury or wound...or in the case of Ichigo, his complete exhaustion from running around for days. As a card, it would 'reject' any damage to her Life Points as long as she removed a card from her hand from play.

The Fairy Shield, the three fairies who protected Orihime from any attack. It would protect Orihime's side of the field or Orihime herself for one full turn, but she had to pay for it with three hundred life points for each attack. Combining that with the 'Dancing Fairy' card, and it was a devastating trick.

And finally, the Fairy Paladin, aka Tsubaki. The lone 'attack' fairy of the Six. Unlike Orihime, who couldn't stand to see people hurt, Tsubaki had gotten a major upgrade power wise in his card form. He still looked like a strange sort of ninja with a bit of an attitude, but as a Duel Monster he was able to cut through any monster or make direct attacks, provided Orihime had the life points to support a direct hit.

Tsubaki also had the power to 'reduce' attack points as long as Orihime discarded one card from her hand. It would take out five hundred attack points from one monster for each card she discarded. And considering Tsubaki had twenty five, that meant if she got rid of two she could easily take out Kaiba's precious Blue Eyes White Dragon in a single hit.

Apparently Pegasus found the idea of a fairy taking out Kaiba's beloved Dragon so hilarious that he had to add it to the card. Though how Orihime convinced him to make her Shun Shun Rikka in the first place Ichigo had no idea.

In between the Shun Shun Rikka and the two Dancing Fairies Orihime had on the field, there was no way Yugi was going to get past her. Her entire strategy was dependent on getting her Fairies on the field, and since they were low enough to only require one sacrifice per fairy 'card', that usually took a few turns. It didn't hurt that each of the three powers were all on one card for each.

Yugi was actually _grinning_ when Orihime beat him. For the first time in a long time, he didn't switch with Yami. And he enjoyed the duel for a change.

"That was the most fun I've had this entire tournament!" said Yugi.

Orihime grinned herself.

"You put up more of a fight than half my opponents. Most of them were too busy staring at my chest whenever I pretended to flirt with them," said Orihime happily.

"I bet," said Ichigo snorting. Most men couldn't think past their second head around girls, and it only got worse when the girl in question had a larger chest. Ichigo was one of the few who could look Orihime in the eye while talking to her.

Yugi then turned his attention to Ichigo.

"I still want to see what your deck looks like," he said.

Ichigo grimaced.

"It's just a loose one, but I'm seriously considering seeing if Pegasus can't recreate a few things like he did for Orihime. Odds are he'd like the challenge."

"Soul reapers and Arrancar?" said Orihime.

"Try Zanpakuto and Espada. Can you imagine Grimmjow's expression when he realizes he's in card form?" grinned Ichigo.

Orihime giggled.

* * *

"Dammit, who the hell are these idiots?" complained a voice.

His companion said nothing, but she did punch another human in the face.

Shortly after going to see Ichigo about the report of the living messing with souls, and having come up with nothing initially, they had gone to see him. And they could tell immediately Ichigo still didn't have his powers.

Which meant he wouldn't be of much help. Better to keep him out of the loop.

Then when they went to get information from Urahara, they found out they had screwed the pooch. Royally.

Ichigo was pissed and wanted nothing to do with them. Urahara chewed them out but good...and then told them that Ichigo had started to develop powers related to the case, seeing as how he had been repeatedly exposed to certain ancient energies.

Rukia still winced at the memory of Urahara's comments.

Yes, they had been rude, but they thought keeping Ichigo out of this mess was a better idea. He had already moved on with his life, and they didn't see a reason to drag him back in.

Urahara would let them do their own investigation, but there was no way in hell Ichigo was going to help them unless he had to.

So now here they were, fighting off possessed humans who seemed to think they could use them as bait for the one guarding the two brothers.

Considering how pissed off Ichigo was at them, he was more likely to tell them to get themselves out of that mess.

Suddenly everything went black as two of the thugs got a lucky hit in, knocking out the gigai. They woke up bound in a random warehouse with some lunatic human with a gold scepter with a disturbing looking eye.

Just when they thought they were in trouble, the door opened revealing...Ichigo?

* * *

Shirosaki took pride in the fact the warehouse district was his to rule Ichigo could care less so long as he only targeted the assholes and left the innocents alone. Depending on whether or not he went back to Karakura, he might work out a similar arrangement and let Shiro kill or devour any hollows he ran into. It wasn't like he cared, so long as Shiro left the ones they actually liked alone.

Still, the warehouses were his to patrol, so he was very surprised to see activity in an abandoned one.

One look inside and he debated on whether or not to bother interrupting.

Instead he called Ichigo.

"_What?"_

"**The midget and the monkey got captured by the same losers we've been beating up for the past two weeks. Any suggestions or should I let them learn their lesson?"**

"_Screw that, I'm not letting them develop what Kaitou calls Shadow Magic by exposure like us. Get them out of there, but don't bother freeing them if they're bound. They can get their own ass out of that."_

Shiro cackled.

"**Gotcha King,"**said Shiro.

"_Oh and Shiro?"_

Shirosaki was on the edge of his seat as he said **"Yes King?"**

"_No need to be _gentle_. If they get a few bruises when you get them out of that mess, I'm not going to bother caring."_

Shirosaki's evil grin practically split his face. There were times he didn't mind being subservient to Ichigo...this was absolutely one of those times why.

Shiro broke into the warehouse, grabbed the chairs the two reapers were tied to, and began to drag them backwards after sending a Getsuga Tenshou at the roof, causing it to collapse and block the exit.

The walk out was bumpy, uncomfortable, and full of bitching from both Rukia _and_ Renji.

In the cold hard light of day, they both paled as they realized 'Ichigo' had a hole that was clearly visible through his body, and that he was almost entirely white in color.

"Oh hell...Kurosaki was desperate enough to submit to his hollow side?!" said Renji in horror. There was a hint of disgust in his voice, which had Shiro roll his eyes.

"Where is Ichigo, abomination?"

"**Wow, you idiots keep digging the hole deeper. King is currently acting like a taxi to the chibi. The warehouse and docks are _my_ territory and I patrol it regularly. By the way, King said you used your one chance to join in his investigation behind the Items. If you want his help be prepared to do some serious groveling," **said Shiro, leaving.

"Wait! How are you out?" demanded Rukia.

"**Hell if we know. And since you both pissed off King you two morons have to get out of those bindings yourself. King only said to rescue you...he said nothing about freeing you,"** said Shiro flatly. He used sonido to get out of there, but he left them in an area with wireless cameras and told Ichigo which ones to hack.

The teen immediately did... Ichigo, Orihime, Mokuba, Chad and Kaiba all spent an enjoyable two hours watching them try, fail, try and finally get out of the ropes they were tied up with. All while Renji cursed up a storm and Rukia bitched the entire time.

Kaiba would have covered Mokuba's ears, but to be honest he heard worse around Kaitou or Kaiba himself when the computer or a prototype was fighting him in the middle of the night and he hadn't had enough sleep. So long as he didn't go repeating the words regularly his brother could watch the show.

Needless to say Shiro got to join Kaitou on his less than legal activities for a week because of it.

Rukia and Renji left Domino to confront Urahara.

They were pissed he had failed to mention Shirosaki was out and about.

* * *

"Oh? So you finally ran into Shiro-kun did you?" said Urahara grinning.

"There is a _hollow_ running around that city and Ichigo hasn't even tried to reign him in!" shrieked Rukia.

"Well yeah, why would he bother? Ichigo set a strict set of rules he has to follow for him to be let out. So long as he doesn't attack innocent bystanders or souls, Ichigo could care less. From what I understand Shirosaki is the guardian of the warehouse and dock district of Domino, while Ba-Ku-Ra patrols the city and keeps the thieves in line. Shirosaki is perfectly content eating other hollows in Hueco Mundo," said Urahara.

He had expressed a similar concern, and when he saw how quickly Shiro had taken to the rules of 'no eating the living or stray souls wandering around, or attacking innocents', he had let it drop. Ichigo had a good judge of character, and if he believed Shirosaki was reasonable enough to let loose without a minder, then Urahara would trust him.

The results spoke for themselves.

"We'll have to tell the Soul Society about this..." muttered Renji. He was rewarded with a whack to the head by Urahara's fan.

"No you won't. You were given the chance by Ichigo to help him in his investigation, and you completely blew it by treating him as a civilian without any powers. You didn't even think to confirm whether or not he was without use, you just told him to stay out of your way. And if you recall, it was that attitude that lead to the friction between what's left of the Quincy and the few psychics we do work with. Ichigo has been feeding me more information than you could get by trying to get inside the group dealing directly with this. He's smart enough to call for back-up, and he's pretty pissed at you both for how you treated him," said Urahara. This wasn't the laid back meddler...this was the former captain of Squad Twelve. Ichigo wasn't the only one pissed at them...he had sent a video of the conversation to Urahara and the others, and they had been angry as well.

If that was how the soul society treated their allies, it was little wonder they had nearly been wiped out by Aizen and his forces. Ichigo had only helped because he didn't have a choice at the time.

It was little wonder the Soul Society had few allies, with how arrogant they were.

Ichigo had quite a few fans in Hueco Mundo, because he had been the one to suggest Orihime use her powers of rejection to save Ulquiorra under the reasoning that he was one of the few who could give him a decent fight anymore. She had managed to save the Espada, but the fact Ichigo, a _soul reaper's son_ had told his friend to save a _hollow_...it meant he was above and beyond what the hollows had to deal with.

As a result he was treated with more civility and welcomed to Hueco Mundo...a fact Shirosaki took full advantage of.


	10. Chapter 10

Ichigo felt like shit, but at least all the running was _almost_ over. Jounouchi was a shoo-in for the last spot, no one else was as close and Kaitou had little interest after the idiot with the scepter had tried to use it on Ryou and didn't understand the words 'back off', even when confronted by a very territorial 5,000 year old spirit who had zero hesitation stabbing someone who generally annoyed him.

Ichigo had promptly given him a list of names and pictures of people from the Soul Society he could care less if Kaitou stabbed, people he would be annoyed with if he _did_ stab, and people who were simply too much of a hassle to stab if he ran into them.

He had never seen Shirosaki laugh so hard in his life, and even Zangetsu found it hilarious.

Besides, if he were in the tournament then he couldn't ogle Orihime from the sidelines. And watching her was generally entertaining for any hotblooded male. Especially whenever Orihime fell into one of her spastic daydreams that generally lasted a minute or two.

As Ichigo could attest, having seen it in action while bored, she could be _very_ entertaining to listen to, even if trying to follow her mental process to that conclusion could make a logical man cry in less than five minutes.

Kaiba put up with her oddity because to be honest, she was the most _normal_ of the oddballs currently on the dueling circuit next to Mai that he might regularly deal with.

Besides, as Ichigo had pointed out she was good eye candy and might boost the number of serious female duelists which was sadly lacking.

Mai made was a good idol for the women who wanted to be taken seriously, and Orihime was a good example that just because you were pretty and had a big bust didn't mean you couldn't duel with the big shots like Kaiba.

Kaiba actually looked speculative about that idea, and was seriously considering an ad campaign involving both as a way to boost the number of women duelists. Odds were Mai would probably love it.

Then Ichigo got a call from a frantic Honda. Something about the scepter-carrying-moron having brainwashed Jounouchi (who had gotten his last locator card shortly before, and was promptly registered accordingly the moment he won) and forcing him to duel Yugi.

The moment he said _where_ this duel was happening and that Anzu had somehow gotten kidnapped and was now being held hostage as 'incentive', Ichigo knew what to do.

He called Shirosaki and told him to bring ear plugs once he reached Anzu. He would rescue her while Ichigo made sure Jounouchi's sister Shizuka didn't end up as part of the 'hostages' since she had just arrived in town ten minutes earlier and was still waiting for her brother.

"Mokuba, do you want to come with or do you want to watch Kaitou yell at people?"

"Kaitou, if only because I know he'll stab anyone stupid enough to kidnap me," said Mokuba after thinking about it. Odds were Ichigo would be preoccupied and this way he could show the thief where the finals were being held without any casualties.

Ichigo promptly left Mokuba with thief...and if Mokuba happened to learn the fine art of picking locks and slipping knots...well Ichigo had someone to blame. Besides, considering Mokuba had a bad history of being kidnapped it was a useful skill set to have.

* * *

Shizuka was worried. Her brother should have been waiting for her at the station.

She could hear panting as something skidded to a stop...did he ride a bike here?

"Are you Shizuka?" the person asked. That was definitely _not_ her brother.

"I am."

"Your brother's in a bit of a mess. Some idiot with mind control powers is forcing him to duel his friend near the docks, and he couldn't come to pick you up. Since I want to avoid having you turn into an extra hostage, I offered to come get you instead."

"...What?"

That sounded way too weird even for her.

The boy sighed.

"I know it sounds crazy, but unfortunately Domino seems to have attracted a bunch of super-powered nut jobs who are obsessed with Duel Monsters. I'm sure your brother will explain it better once I've snapped him out of it, or his friends will."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Shizuka.

"If I can get Hiroto Honda on the phone will you believe me?" he asked.

Honda was one of the few friends her brother had that she actually knew. Or their voice anyway.

Shizuka nodded, and there was the sound of a phone calling someone. She heard the other's voice speaking to someone before a cell phone was put in her hand.

Once she heard Honda confirm what he had told her, she believed him.

"How are we going to reach the other end of town though?"

She could practically _hear_ the smirk.

"Quick question...you're not afraid of roller coasters or high-speed rides are you?"

"Not particularly, but it became less fun when I started to loose my sight."

She felt herself being put on something warm, not very soft and breathing. It took her a few moments to realize the unknown person had put her on his back. She promptly wrapped her arms around his neck in shock, hoping he wouldn't drop her.

"Hold on tight. You're about to experience the same thing Mokuba did while I was playing taxi for the past week," he warned her.

There was a burst of speed and she could hear the sound of cars and shocked voices as they raced past. Just from the wind alone she knew they were going faster than any bike she had ever heard of. And from the sound alone, she had the distinct feeling they were completely ignoring multiple traffic laws in the process.

In practically no time at all, she could hear the sounds of the docks. Strangely, she felt disappointed that the entire thing was over.

* * *

Ichigo took one look at the entire mechanism and grimaced. That was a nightmare to deal with even on a good day, and according to Honda the winner would be released and the loser sent swimming with a heavy chain attached.

Not on his watch.

There was one thing Ichigo hadn't tried, primarily because he didn't really have the energy for it, but Mokuba had called to tell him that once they were done dueling they should head to the finals, which meant no more high-speed running.

It also meant he had called Orihime to head to their location, just in case they had to do an emergency healing. Ichigo could guess who told her what was happening when she showed up ten minutes after he did.

Ichigo looked at her with a serious expression.

"If this doesn't work do you think your fairies are up to task?" he asked.

Orihime didn't need to ask questions. This was the leader Ichigo at the moment and she could already see she had to do a little healing anyway from the bandages on the girl's face. Best to save her energy though. She nodded.

Ichigo smiled, and took out Zangetsu. Seeing the stance he then took, Orihime's eyes widened in recognition as she backed away very quickly. Honda took her hint and did the same, bringing Shizuka with him.

"_Ban...kai!"_

The energy that soul reapers and hollows used, reitsu, had never fully recovered from the shock Ichigo had given his system. And it wouldn't recover for another month if he were lucky.

However ever since Pegasus hit Ichigo with his shadow magic (thus freeing Shirosaki to act on his own, albeit weaker than before since he was also recovering from the battle in Karakura with Aizen) the two sides had been drawing from an alternative, although just as dangerous power source.

The shadow realm.

The amount of shadow magic one could draw from that realm was equal to the strength of one's mind and soul. For people like Yugi and Ryou, who drew from their darker selves, it made them dangerous opponents against others with similar abilities.

For someone like Ichigo, who was born with an abnormally high amount of reitsu courtesy of being a soul reaper captain's son in a human body, and who spent nearly two years training his soul to match that of the likes of Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Ulquiorra Cifer and Aizen... he wasn't dangerous, he was practically _god_ level on his own.

And he would only grow in strength once his soul fully recovered from expending all the energy he had in his body to defeat Aizen. It wasn't gone, it was just waiting for his body to recover.

His power right now was at a trickle...once his ability recovered, it would be more appropriate to call it a flood that could wipe out towns.

When the smoke cleared away, where Ichigo had been standing in his bodyguard's outfit, was now a dark cloaked figure in samurai outfit with a long black katana that had a short chain at the end.

In a single blink the moment Ichigo took a step, it was all over.

The chains binding the Pharaoh and Jounouchi to the rigging above them were cut into pieces too small to use again, and the amount of weight on them dropped drastically.

Ichigo released his technique once he was sure they wouldn't end up dragged into the ocean once the duel was over.

However there was a drawback to drawing that much power all at once and then releasing it. Ichigo collapsed on one knee and started coughing up blood as a side effect of using shadow magic like that for the first time.

Orihime's hands flew to her hair pins.

"Sôten Kishun, I reject!"

Two fairies flew off her hair pins to create a shield around Ichigo. He could feel himself breath easier as the fairies healed him.

"Thanks Orihime."

Orihime's happy smile told him all he needed to know.

"I'm just glad you're not being pushed around by Rukia and the soul society anymore Ichigo."

In the end Yugi won, though if Ichigo hadn't destroyed most of the chains he would have let Jounouchi win.

As it was, it took a firm slap to the back of the head from Ichigo to break the mind control on him. Jounouchi was just glad his little sister had been picked up by Ichigo and not the jerk who forced him to duel Yugi.

Orihime then healed Shizuru's eyes so she could remove the bandages.

Jounouchi was just relieved his sister's first sight after having the surgery wasn't him being forced to duel his best friend.

Ichigo was about to leave with Orihime when he got a call.

"Ichigo. Yeah, it's been resolved. Okay, we'll wait."

"What's that about?" asked Yugi.

"In order to insure you two don't end up being kidnapped...again... or otherwise sabotaged Kaiba's sending a car to pick us up. All of us, since there are _three_ finalists here and he wants to avoid a lawsuit."

Ichigo then turned to Orihime.

"He also wants to know if you'd be willing to have an exhibition match with Mai once this is over as a way to promote female duelists, since he's hoping you two would boost the number of girls in the international circuits that are serious competitors," said Ichigo.

"I don't see why not."

"Hold up, she's a serious duelist?" said Honda incredulous.

Orihime had a strange smile on her face.

"I'm currently the _only_ female duelist able to give Mai Kujaku a run for her money," said Orihime.

It was Shizuru who recognized her before Ichigo could spoil Orihime's fun.

"Oh my gosh, are you Inoue Orihime, the Fairy Queen?"

As one, the others turned to look at her.

"I am."

"Can I have your autograph?"

Orihime tried very hard not to laugh at the disbelieving look on her brother's face.

"Of course you can. It's not often people as _me_ for the autographs and not Mai."

"Sis...how do you know her?" asked Jounouchi carefully.

"You didn't think I wouldn't look up the who's who of duelists when I found out your new hobby did you?" said Shizuru sensibly. Besides, she liked fairies.

Ichigo snickered at the dumbstruck look on Jounouchi's face.

A very posh looking limo showed up near the dock district, and Ichigo gladly sat in the back. He had called Kaitou who would be bringing Mokuba with him.

They would be waiting at a small cafe where the food and drink was on the house...courtesy of Kaiba agreeing to pay the tab while they waited for the other finalists to arrive.

It was easier to make hungry duelist wait at a restaurant or cafe than it was to make them wait in the field Kaiba had bought specifically so they could have the blimp land long enough for everyone to get on board.

* * *

Orihime took Shizuka aside for some 'girl-talk' and Anzu had seen the looks both girls had shot a certain bodyguard.

Needless to say the friendship Otaku knew _exactly_ what they were going to talk about and wanted nothing to do with it. She was more interested in Yugi...more specifically the taller, more regal Yugi that everyone simply called Yami.

"I noticed you were looking at Ichigo pretty intently."

Shizuru managed not to gulp, but there was something about Orihime that made you relax.

"You're not the first person to fall for him, and you won't be the last. The problem is he's either unbelievably dense or completely oblivious to girls for some reason. I know for a fact he's never been on a date and that he's never had a girlfriend."

"He hasn't?" said Shizuru in shock. Someone like Ichigo, kind, courageous and strong...someone should have snatched him up years ago!

"Which is why I'm proposing a way for both of us to get what we want. If Ichigo is that oblivious to one girl trying to snag him, imagine how hard it would be to remain blind with _two_ attractive girls trying to get him together?"

At this point Orihime was fully prepared to share if it meant not losing Ichigo. Sharing him was better than never having him.

"Let me think about it," said Shizuru.

Nearby Anzu, who overheard the entire thing, snickered. Ichigo wouldn't know what hit him...two girls instead of one?

Jounouchi was sure to have a fit that his baby sister had a crush on Ichigo.


End file.
